Quote - Both parties with very little difference between them and both beholden to big business for campaign funds.

When each Presidential candidate needs at least $100 million to campaign, there are lots of favours to pay off, to you know who.

It's a whole lot more than $100 million if you are talking presidential campaigns. All told, the combined total was actually in the billions in 2004.

In any case, you have definitely hit upon the crux of the problem.

The real left in the US -- to the limited extent that it exists -- is almost powerless, and almost unanimously supports public financing of political campaigns for that reason.