In response to the Role of Protesting: I truly do not think socrates is protesting anything. He seems to be basically ok with how Athens is run. Him remaining true to his principles is him trying to die with honor though he no longer feels that he has a role to play in Athens because of the generations of slander that have been brought against him. I do think that Plato definitely played this whole situation up a little bit for dramatic effect.
In response to Force, Rhetoric, and the Apology: I think that rhetoric is one of socrates most important tools because it is the easiest way to get people to question their own positions. My favorite example so far is when he basically gets Euthyphro to prove himself wrong by making Euthyphro state that the gods often disagree.
Socrates as a political figure (i.e. one who would or could protest any decision on the part of the Athenian government) doesn't exactly make sense in the context of Plato's project (to the extent that we know or have access to that project). By demonstrating how philosophy functions, Socrates arms his students with the necessary tools to develop political opinions, but cannot himself embody any partisanship. I'm still not sure if this makes him the MOST political Athenian, or the least.
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