Listen to a reading of this article: In 2008 the American public was fed up with the disastrous status quo politics of George W Bush, so they came together and elected a progressive candidate who campaigned on hope and change to replace him. But no progress happened; the hope and change never came. Barack Obama continued and expanded all of his predecessor's most depraved policies at home and abroad, and it wasn't long before the initial elation wore off and the illusion that things were looking up evaporated. It was as if Bush had never left office.