Americans complain about the lack of true leaders and of today's poll-driven politicians. But if American is a democracy, isn't that exactly how it is supposed to work?

George W Bush, lambasted as the destroyer of peace in the Middle East, may preside over the most welcome development there since the Second World War.

Anyone who thinks there is anything Americans cannot or will not do has lost faith in the American people, and is unfit to lead them.

The conservatives have rightly complained about the fiasco that was the CNN/YouTube debate, to say nothing of Chris Matthews' execrable moderating. Now the shoe is on the other foot, and it doesn't fit any better on that side.

Once again, lawbreakers get a nice fat Christmas present, while the longsuffering voters get "nothing but hooks and some wire."

By taking this preposterous action, the CIA has provided a signal service.

Having been put on the scent, the blogosphere discovered that this was only the tip of the iceberg.

Unlimited money, unlimited visibility, unlimited clout - what could possibly go wrong?

By thumbing their nose in the fact of the overwhelming majority of Americans, the Democrats are running a very serious risk.

Somehow, we have reached the point where we view democracy and elections as ends in themselves. But they aren't.