I have been a student of American politics for over a half century. And it shames me to say that until the financial crisis of 2009, I was clueless regarding what was really happening politically right in front of my eyes, like, frankly, most remain today. Sure, I stayed informed, had my favorite news shows like anybody else. So until that crisis occurred, I took all the DC actors seriously. I just thought many of them were stupid. They were stupid because they said stupid things, held stupid policy positions, then changed to different stupid policy positions and tried to explain how they had “always been consistent.” The financial crisis finally taught me a lesson. I did my homework, opened my mind. As I expanded my perspective, my paradigm shifted. I began to see much more clearly.