waha, i'm just not as convinced that most americans receive their news or political or ethical views from politicians. as was said earlier, i think that pat roberts and rush limbaugh have insurmountably more influence over the "hearts and minds" of red america than tom delay or dick army ever could.

how many american voters do you think could even identify what branch of the legislature tom delay is a member of?

democratic politics has little to do with politics, and that might just be a good thing. most issues that the citizenry should deal with are fundamentally philosophical issues, which should be kept far away from people with law degrees. economics and defense should probably be left out of the public domain i think, because they're too complicated and specialized for most people to understand (not because they're too stupid, but because they don't have the leisure time to develop the specialized vocabulary and frame of reference).

so uh, in summary, i disagree with your argument's premise where you suggest that people whom american citizens vote for are in a position to manipulate those citizens.