Joe - agreed that the rich in general find ways to evade tax. In my native Holland people will claim more and more people will emigrate due to tax pressure. But ultimately this is quite a slim minority. The main reason being that moving out is very very intrusive in your life. Secondly many realize abroad what they miss from back home. Something similar happens here. I live close to the French-Swiss border. Prices across the border (rent, food, etc) are a fraction of what it is here. Over recent years the borders have opened to people working on one side and living in the other. Still the Swiss remain here. Largely because they are rooted here and prefer the services and way of life. So I'm not convinced by the 'they'll flee when taxed' argument. I do find it odd that 40% (assuming you mean the bottom 40%) do not pay any taxes. Here they do. Although you could argue they get it back in medical insurance subsidies.
The other point you made about great orators. We have had 8 years of possibly the other extreme. In my book he was not full of ideas or great policies. Instead he seemed to live stuff by the day. He was a great salesman, granted (but incidentally, he 'sold' well in the US but not here). But this, IMO, does not make someone a better leader. For me a large part of leadership means inspiring people to make sacrifices they might otherwise not make. To bring people together in a common effort. That requires great oratory skills as well as organizational. So for me it is positive. It is true that some of the greatest villains were great orators, but for me this cannot be logically reversed. Josey mentions FDR. FDR was a great orator. I think it's what not only the US, but the whole planet needs right now. Remember that most people pay quite close attention to what the US president says and does.
In my lifetime I have not witnessed a greater interest in a foreign election than this one. In most countries in Western Europe, TV broadcasts were continued throughout the night (i.e. from 1 AM until 6 AM as results came in). This alone is something to note. I remember that 8 years ago I felt it a kind of injustice that the 'mightiest man on Earth' was chosen by a couple of hundred million. If you stop to think about it, there is something bizarre about a night where millions upon millions around the world tune in to follow what is happening in your country. The elections here are not much followed by the natives, let alone people from abroad. That would be the day when you'd stay up until the wee hours in the morning as you're following the results of the Swiss elections.
Quite a change to have a non-technical debate here :-) Cheers