One British View of the 2008 Election

Here is one commentator's thoughts on the difference between US and UK elections. Very interesting!

Here is a taste:

What was most striking was the contrast between the unembarrassed respect in the US for the democratic process and thus for those who were participating in it, to the vague contempt in Britain for the whole demeaning circus.

. . . What lies behind the supercilious scepticism of the BBC to genuine popular democracy may be inherent in the British attitude to politics. Perhaps it goes back to the English Civil War and the notion that parliamentary activism- the whole tawdry business of putting oneself up for office - is a common, rather downmarket thing to do. The lofty disdain the media show for politicians is simply a form of aristocratic contempt for an activity that has always been,in some vague way, below the salt. Where in the US the democratic process is heroic, in Britain it is squalid.