Looks like lots of people are asking my question. The author's bias is clear, and in places he comes off sounding judgemental, but it's worth the read. And paints a terribly depressing picture of the current state of politics as well as the political future of society at large. I hope he's wrong, but I fear he might not be.

"In Sparks lies the great conundrum of modern Southern politics: The average, white, working-class guy is having a hard time making ends meet -- as if consumer debt recently topping $2 trillion for the first time wasn't enough of a clue. His wages have dropped when adjusted for inflation. His health insurance premiums have skyrocketed (if he has health insurance). He and his wife both have to work, and they pay astronomical childcare bills. His younger kids' schools are crappy and under-funded. His older kids' college tuition jumped (14 percent in the last year, on average). And, if he's like Sparks, 30 percent of what he managed to stash away for retirement evaporated in a stock market fiasco fueled by corporate greed that a bit more government oversight could have prevented.

So where's the anger? And why in the world is he going to vote for a president based on a side issue such as which candidate hates gay marriage? "

-snip-

"It just ... seemed to be a dwindling of responsibility," she [former member of Polk County Board of Commissioners Marlene Young] says. "People more and more just seem to be looking at their own individual self-interests rather than the larger interests that may be necessary for all of us to live together, ultimately."