BlueStreak,
Thanks for posting. It took me six years to digest your posts but we are still here talking politics. That alone is a testament of our love for public good -- the body politic.
A comedian made a comment that brought me back to this thread. The comment was along the line of what will Americans do when foreigners no longer want to emigrate to America? That question is profound IMO because it rephrases the difficult question of when has a party become so richly drunk and ugly that outsiders avoid it?
Party hosts know the worry. The inflection point happens when they want their own party to retire for the night. The film "Trading Places" expresses the moment for me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItdVLbl6_ng
I am volunteering for my second political campaign and my worry is how to help my candidate while letting swing voters enjoy peace and quiet.
On a more national and general level, I am afraid that the profitability of advertising for persuasion sake has replaced the value of quiet leadership by example. Immigrants may avoid America for the simple reason that we are too loud.
I dunno.