Yeah, I guess that's the story behind politics everywhere, except of course in the US we're talking real money and real power.

Americans might find it interesting that Canadian high schools do in fact cover the structure of American politics (it'd be silly, of course, to pretend to ignore the 900 lb gorilla, especially when it lives next door). I remember it being quite objective and fact-based, part of a long comparative government arc in social studies class. That probably stands as my first serious introduction to US politics. I enjoyed it tremendously, but have since preferred the study of history to that of politics (despite the obvious and extensive cross-over). I've always thought that if economics is "the dismal science," then I don't want to know how one might describe politics.