Senator Rubio gets it, the ads Romney and Newt are throwing at each other are going to hurt the eventual nominee. And Gingrich actually pulled the ad. The Republicans have noticed they're making Obama's job easier. Maybe they've been watching the rise in popcorn sales. Whatever it is, they're actually worried about November. Damn, my popcorn tastes a little extra special this morning.
Bob Dole: In my run for the presidency... the Dems greeted me with a number of negative TV ads, and in every one of them Newt was in the ad.
Here's Schumpeter on democracy. I'm sure Romney and Hollande would agree with that, too:
Schumpeter expounded a theory of democracy which sought to challenge what he called the "classical doctrine". He disputed the idea that democracy was a process by which the electorate identified the common good, and politicians carried this out for them. He argued this was unrealistic, and that people's ignorance and superficiality meant that in fact they were largely manipulated by politicians, who set the agenda. This made a 'rule by the people' concept both unlikely and undesirable. Instead he advocated a minimalist model, much influenced by Max Weber, whereby democracy is the mechanism for competition between leaders, much like a market structure. Although periodic votes by the general public legitimize governments and keep them accountable, the policy program is very much seen as their own and not that of the people, and the participatory role for individuals is usually severely limited.
