Once AS started adding multiple teams, it weakened it's value and showed how much of a money grab it is IMO. It's supposed to be the best of the best. 3 teams pre age group for LI is just ridiculous and made it lose a lot of credibility.
Both AS and AA are political. Evaluators and coaches will pretty much always have some sort of agenda. It's life. People saying 1 of the 2 is not political are kidding themselves.