David Sirota's new book is full of colorful characters and prevaricating villains. In addition to plentiful Matrix references, we see walk-ons from Star Trek, Star Wars and Superman. Each chapter excoriates a corrupt parade of liars, mythmakers and hacks, and holds up a political hero for us to admire and, as Ruy Teixeira might put it, aspire to emulate.

Such allusions may feel lowbrow to political commentators more used to communicating in poll numbers and abstract truisms about "good government," but Sirota didn't write this book for them. In fact, he tells us who the book is for right in his introduction: disaffected young people, working people who have given up on politicians, members of both parties--"the real Americans who make this country great, as opposed to the elitists who are driving our government into the ground."

It's easy to scoff at such a claim from Sirota, who, after all, writes for half-a-dozen high-profile media outlets and has worked in both the Beltway and the upper echelons of state-level politics. But to do so ignores the opportunity that this book presents to every reader: The chance to recognize what we all share and to write ourselves into the epic battles our culture is currently facing.

Real Americans face the hostile takeover that Sirota outlines every day: we find ourselves trapped in airports, haggling with credit card companies, deciphering Medicare provisions for our aging parents, and paying through the nose at the pump. As Andrei Cherny notes in his post, Sirota's populism is recognizable and contemporary--"a populism for the service economy--for an America that works in cubicles and is sick of arguing with the 'customer service representative.' "

In another pop culture moment (Because, after all, what unites or defines us these days as much as our media consumption habits?), Cherny notes that Sirota's populism appeals to those who identify with "Office Space"--like The Matrix, a film which features a hero who is suddenly clued in to the falsehoods that permeate his everyday life.

This echoes an important thread that runs through Hostile Takeover--the notion that Americans are not only being taken advantage of, but are being sold a bill of goods in the process. And, like many of us, Sirota is pretty pissed about it. "On almost every major issue affecting your wallet," he writes, "you are told a different version of the same basic story. There is a deified 'free market' that we must all bow down to and never question, under punishment of getting tarred and feathered as a pinko commie bastard by whatever Attilla the Hun radio host happens to be on the air."

Or here's Sirota on Bush's 2004 claim that "Empty talk about jobs won't get anyone hired."--"Every time he uttered the line, you could almost hear the American worker simultaneously laugh and cry." he writes. "The chuckle came from seeing a politician who had lied so many times before about jobs utter such self-righteous pablum with a straight face, as if it was a Saturday Night Live parody, rather than reality."

This weekend, we were treated to a grotesque display from the president at the White House Correspondents Dinner that took this comparison to a surreal extreme. At that same dinner, Stephen Colbert--our preeminent critic of the market-tested false populism practiced on Fox News--delivered a scathing rebuke to the assembled reporters about the quality of information Americans are receiving about the policy decisions that shape our lives.

What are you thinking reporting on NSA wiretapping or secret prisons in Eastern Europe? Those things are secret for a very important reason: they're super-depressing. And if that's your goal, well, misery accomplished. Over the last five years you people were so good -- over tax cuts, WMD intelligence, the effect of global warming. We Americans didn't want to know, and you had the courtesy not to try to find out. Those were good times, as far as we knew.

But, listen, let's review the rules. Here's how it works: the president makes decisions. He's the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put 'em through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know--fiction!

Sirota writes, "today's reporters seem more interested in preserving their spot on politicians' Christmas card list than actually confronting them." Thankfully, not all of us were invited to that dinner, and there's a burgeoning movement of both independent media outlets and "real Americans" empowered by communications technology who are more than willing to cast a critical eye on the corruption in Washington.

But cutting through the spin is only the first step in "taking the red pill." The real trick will be crafting a story compelling enough to get voters to the polls in November and beyond. To do so, politicians and pollsters should take a page from Sirota's book--engaging with the pop culture narratives that many Americans use to decipher the mess we're really in.