The novelist Leo Tolstoy wrote vividly about war and peace, showing us the drawing rooms and idiosyncrasies of Russia's elite.  But in reality, he was telling us that great societal changes are most often pushed along by tsunami-deep impulses that cause elites to react far more than they inspire them to lead.  And this, in my view, is the greatest lesson of political history.  Entrenched aristocracies, however we may want to define them, do not want change;  their desire instead is to manage dissent in a way that does not disrupt their control.  But over time, under the right system of government, a free, thinking people has the energy and ultimately the power to effect that change.

Sen. Jim Webb, Virginia, 2008 (from his new book, Time to Fight: Reclaiming a Fair and Just America).

And another quote from Webb:

Our challenges lie in improving the way we’ve been selecting our leaders. To the American voters, I offer this advice: Be as shrewd and ruthless in your demands on our leaders as the wizards running campaigns are in their strategies to get your vote. Do your part to send to Washington people who truly want to solve the problems of this country from the bottom up.

You won’t regret it. You will benefit from it. And the stakes could not be higher. Sometimes the business of politics seems silly. It can also be infuriating. But you must stay in the game, because you and your grandchildren will be the inheritors of both our successes and flaws.

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