I have never been all that clear on the definition of "realpolitik," I realize. I was planning to use it as a word on Wordcraftjr, and one site defined it as: "Operating according to the belief that politics is based on the pursuit, possession, and application of power." The dictionaries define it something like: "political realism or practical politics, esp. policy based on power rather than on ideals." The former, from this site, seems so much more intense than the second.