You've confused hope with naivety, where there is none.

Election time is the best time for reform, i.e. where the democratic process has the most influence.

Wasn't Obama the 'hope' candidate?

I agree that hope is better than despair but hope seems to be a bit of a tarnished word after the last 4+ years.

And this time around, let's hope we are a bit more curious about the "change" we are voting for.

Voting for a very small set of preselected candidates, endorsed by either wing of the elite party and mass media has zero chance of changing anything.