Excellent across-the-pond perspective that pretty much sums up the Bush et al. debacle.

Indeed, it has often seemed in the past seven years that, beyond a fall down the rabbit hole, the historical dance with democracy has come full circle and what was once considered the world's greatest power--beyond military might--as devolved into a fawning regard for an ersatz king.

Equally as troubling is this emperor has too many clothes--and tailors--and, as such, abhors transparency and the rule of law. The experiment has gone terribly awry. Abby Normal has come up from the basement lab to announce that the gargoyle has been released--and instead of a Frankenstein it's a Cyclops.

At some level it seems inevitable ... after all, how reasonable is it to expect that another human can adequately represent someone else--let alone hundreds of thousands of someone else.

With over 303 million Americans now making a stand, and only 535 people selected to be the voice of those millions, it seems absurd and silly to believe that those select few (535) would even come close to fulfilling the wants, needs and aspirations for so many millions. Add to that the tortured soul of capitalism and puff, just like that the country is shouting hosanna to The Decider and bidding farewell to the spirit and letter of the Constitution.

This two-hundred-and-thirty-one-year social experiment has come to its fitting conclusion--democracy was a noble adventure and for a moment the world saw the possibilities. In the end, it was avarice and hubris that instigated the unraveling and, finally, blind allegiance. As Erasmus noted in the fifteenth century, "In the Land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king."

Michael Chiaradonna

Philadelphia, PA