Paul, I don't think most people even pay all that much attention anymore to what their own party says, or even does. Most of the time it's about personalities(Trump, Hillary,...), a handful of 'hot button' issues and hatred for the opposing party fomented by the parties themselves and their media mouthpieces. Governance by little more than soundbites and tweets. Does the average ( or even above average ) person really know or care what the party platforms contain? Do the parties pay anything more than lip service to them in most cases? As you intimated, they are all about image,  little more than two quasi corporations profiteering, often from the same mega-corporate interests bankrollers. We ( non-elites )are not the parties, we're barely even equipment, useful only when it comes election time(what becomes more of a charade with each passing one). No, I don't see things changing for the better. As a nation, we seem to be getting dumber and more ugly by the day.