In just six months we will be picking the next President of the United States. But presidential electoral politics has been declining in popularity recently. Out with the old and in with the new. Far more votes were cast for Reuben or Clay than were cast for Al or George. Of course the “American Idol” voters were 1) teens and tweens and 2) allowed to vote several times. But can’t America learn from its reality shows how to give people what they truly want?
Avoiding mainstays like “The Bachelor” and “Joe Millionaire” which award votes via a dictatorship or the “faux” expert oligopolies of “Are You Hot,” “Popstars,” and “The Swan,” there are two grand old mainstays of voting and reality shows: “Survivor” and “American Idol.” This week I’ll be spending two days on “Survivor” (one in a party machine method and one in a truly public opinion method) and one day on the “American Idol” method.
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