&lt;img src=&quot;http://sfreporter.com/santafe/imgs/media.images/3284/10.20.10 Road-Ahead-cover.t2.jpg&quot; /&gt;It&#039;s time to get back to basics Twenty-one months after Barack Obama was inaugurated on a wave of hope for change in America&amp;rsquo;s politics and policies, at least two important and seemingly contradictory things can be said. There has been a series of significant progressive reforms and the nation&amp;rsquo;s politics are more toxic than ever.