The Failure of Democracy in the USA circa 2007

Among the many factors contributing to the failure of democracy in the USA circa 2007, the co-opting of the news media by large corporations looms large.

Would most Americans choose to give such power to Bush if they knew the total lack of character that his background indicated?

He earned his money solely through nepotism - people paid him to get access to his father; he shirked the draft by getting a cushy position in the national guard and then went awol from even that light duty; he spent years as a shiftless, drunken partier; he got into Yale using his connections and then got bare minimum grades.

You may say that there were articles about these topics but they were buried in the inside pages and were reported far less often than were other frivolous items less relevant to whether he was qualified to govern. The media focused on how popular he is measured by his ratings and whether most people would prefer to have a beer with him.

The people didn't know the character of the man for whom they are voting, so they voted for a man who would exert his power for himself and his friends and not for the good of the general public.