I work in Chicago, and as such, am immersed in a fairly liberal working environment. However, Ayn Rand's, "Atlas Shrugged" has been making its way around my office, not from me mind you. And the ideas are sticking. People are getting it. For those of you unfamiliar with Rand, amidst her objectivist, free-market philosophy lies a very intrinsically woven atheistic outlook. Which frankly, I wonder if that is one of the reasons it has been so successful in this liberal audience. Rand separates Christianity from Conservatism. This stemmed a question from one of my coworkers the other day, "Why are most 'conservatives' theistic?" I await your theories, and will offer mine tomorrow.

Let's say I find a handsome, well-spoken man with no real opinions on anything. He's up for believing anything we tell him to believe. Our goal is popularity. We want him to run for President as the populist candidate. What would we tell him to believe in that would sit well with the majority of the public? Let's start brainwashing. Pick your issues, and speak the populist platform.