On November 3, 1992, the United States became a place called hope. Bill Clinton and Al Gore had just been elected to the White House. They were going to build a bridge to the 21st Century. And a time of unparalleled prosperity began, when the American Dream wasn't just a concept from the history books.

Then came the Contract With America, Monica Lewinsky, a pledge to "restore honor and dignity to the White House" and 9/11. Hope was declared dead. In its place was terror, fear and paranoia. And behind the black curtain drawn around the White House, cynical leaders plotted, using the climate of anxiety created by current events to seize power in unprecedented ways.

They became the arbiters of patriotism, of security, of evil. They started wars, some just, some wrong. People who didn't subscribe to their worldview were declared traitors or disappeared altogether. Deficits and debt exploded. Eligibility for the American Dream was restricted to the privileged few who could pay the price of admission to Capitol Hill and the White House. The Constitution was in tatters.