British voters are almost as stupid as American ones.. we can't really sit here on a high horse when our own electoral system is ridiculous; and
we haven't had a decent PM since... well I could make arguments for Harold Wilson but lots of people didn't like him either.
As for Bush, he
is an idiot. He did, however, have a lot of charisma and to your average thickie voter, he came across as a nice guy. Which is why he was the figurehead; Dick Cheney did most of the really nasty work that Bush's administration will be famous for.
Because America's such a huge country, with a diverse population, a diverse geography and a position as the cultural leaders of the world, it's not surprising that your average American won't think too much about the outside world. As a country, they have always been isolationist, which is why they tried their hardest not to be involved in the World Wars. By the 50s they had established themselves as the world's superpower and Russia were the big rivals.
So America's foreign policy aims were aimed at fighting communism (see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mccarthyism). Which is why America has supported right-wing governments throughout the world and sought battles with socialists. They were fine with Batista's dictatorship in Cuba but not with Castro's socialist dictatorship. Ever notice why South Africa was never properly condemned during apartheid? But huge numbers of troops were committed to Korea and Vietnam to fight communist armies there.
Then suddenly, Communism isn't a major threat in the 90s, so America's got nothing to be fearful of. So the 90s sees a few minor scuffles but nothing really serious. Then, 9/11. America has a new 'ism' to blindly fear. And George Bush's government needs to look like it's doing something, so we get a War on Terror. And they're trying to charm the world by running around championing democracy as an excuse for their warmongering.
So, I suppose the point I'm trying to make is; that most Americans don't have the intelligence to see through the rubbish they're being fed by the government and in the media and from their absurdly god-
fearing upbringings. So they vote for George Bush because he seems like he's a safer bet than anyone else for their paranoia.
This isn't an attack on Americans, because so many idiotic Brits believe what they read in the Daily Mail and any newspaper (including broadsheets). This is why,
when I'm President of the world, there won't be any elections...[/b]
