How do U.S. politics measure up with the rest of

How do U.S. politics measure up with the rest of the worlds nations?

Here in the U.S., most Americans are painfully aware of the ponderous, confusing and lengthy nature of U.S. politics. Issues such as illegal immigration, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and, most recently the health care reform bill, are all glaring examples of the shortcomings of U.S. politics, as conducted by our elected officials.

Some proponents of this system of governance might say that this is evidence of the wonderful democratic process. Opponents generally point to the influence of special interest groups, corporate shenanigans, corruption and a lack of transparency as evidence that the original intended purpose of the U.S. political system has gone amuck.

U.S. politicians tend to tout U.S. politics as superior to that of other nations. Here, we take a look at just how the U.S. political system measures up when compared to other governments around the world.

One nation that stands out from the crowd is Israel. Israels constitution allows for a referendum by the people to essentially oust the, in the middle of his term, if they dont feel that hes performing as promised, or making decisions that are not in their best interests as a nation. Such referendums might be viewed as an orderly and politically sanctioned version of other nations that employ a military coup to achieve the same goal.

So what about the rest of the nations, when compared to U.S. politics? With the possible exception of the loooong, drawn out political campaigns for the President of the U.S., other nations are similarly ponderous and confusing in their methods of legislation. Large corporations and banking institutions hold considerable sway when it comes to what becomes law. Corruption also abounds, in forms ranging from outright theft to more genteel thievery.

Part of the problem relates to the fact that the United Nations, the IMF and the World Bank have their political fingers in the political and financial doings of much of the world.

All in all, U.S. politics are not so different from any other nation. Money and power, closely guarded by politicians, is what drives most every nation on earth.

Here in the U.S., citizens are supposed to be protected from undue power falling in to the hands of an elite few. However, the Patriot Act has stripped us of many of our rights previously guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

Its unlikely that the nature and practice of U.S. politics will be changing for the better any time soon. The question is, are we, the people ready to accept whats currently on our plate? If not, youd better run for office!