The only pity with the Political Machine is that it seems to end where it should really have started: when you become President. It would have been so cool to play one of the major powers in today's world and create an alternative history/future! There was a recent try for such a game (Mission President, I think) but unfortunately it got bashed in the reviews as crap not living up to the good idea. The Political Machine also seems completely US centric. Personally I find foreign policy conflicts more interesting in a game than licking up to various domestic interest groups, from farmers to Intelligent Designers, no matter the country.
