Well then, the only conclusion is that by design you don't have this well-functioning democracy. The people at the top certainly don't think they should listen.

Well then, the only conclusion is that by design you don't have this well-functioning democracy. The people at the top certainly don't think they should listen. RECENTLY, when Vice-President Cheney was asked by ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz about polls showing that an overwhelming majority of US citizens oppose the war in Iraq, he replied, "So?" "So — you don't care what the American people think?" Raddatz asked. "No," Cheney replied, and explained, "I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in public opinion polls." Later, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, explaining Cheney's comments, was asked whether the public should have "input." Her reply: "You had your input. The American people have input every four years, and that's the way our system is set up." That's correct. Every four years the American people can choose between candidates whose views they reject, and then they should shut up. http://www.chomsky.info/articles/20080403.htm http://www.chomsky.info/articles/20080403.htm