As Antonio Salieri framed it in Amadeus: "I bless all you mediocrities; I am the patron saint of mediocrities." As one widely detested YouTube host frames it, the most mediocre people go into politics. I'd add that only the most slavish practitioners of mediocrity would want to expend energy shilling for mediocre pols within an atmosphere rife with corruption. Stir in American celebrity addiction, with the spoon of the empire-of-illusion's one great skill — PR rhetoric — and we have the recipe for a reality-free "liberal" populace who largely believes that truth is manifest in the headlines of the NY Times. Of course, we drown in an ocean of lies; US consumption-based society is all one gigantic scam, over-revving that consumption engine while murdering the biosphere. And what really irritates is how Scranton Joe and his minions like Jen Psaki keep smiling as they elaborate new recipes in the ever-burgeoning field of scamatology.