Trapped in the system

The previously linked EJ Dionne column actually contains some good stuff. Such as:

For example, when Gore is asked if any of the Democrats running for president were changing the system he holds in such low esteem, he pulls no punches. "They're good people trapped in a bad system," he says, "and I think it's the system that needs to be changed and I don't see them changing it." The campaign dialogue so far, he says, has not been "very enriching or illuminating" in "either party." But, no, that doesn't mean he's going to run, though he never completely shuts the door. It's part of the fun he's having.

I, like Gore, realize that most of the Democrats are good people who want to do the right thing. But they have allowed themselves to be hamstrung by the accepted standards of political discourse. They cannot hope to achieve what they want to achieve until they learn how to break out of the the system in which they are trapped.

Changing the dialog is as important today as changing the policy. More so, since you can't change the policy without first changing the dialog.