In the couple of years or so since former presidential hopeful John Edwards blew apart his long-time marriage and once-promising career with one hormone-driven swoop, any noble principle for which he stood has been long forgotten.

Yet distinct echos of Edwards’ “two Americas” refrain, which he trilled relentlessly throughout his 2008 primary campaign, surfaced this week in Robert Reich’s prescription for curing what truly ails the American economy.

If you’re puzzled over Republicans’ apparent inability to offer timely, creative and effective solutions to help dig America out of this economic black hole — one into which their own failed policies have sucked us lightyears from where we began — you’re not alone. Fresh ideas nowhere to be found, GOP leaders still seem pre-programmed to try bamboozling the citizens of this land using the very same stale gimmicks — more tax cuts for corporations and the affluent — that helped get us into this mess.