Most of the Founding Fathers, were they able to tune in from the spirit world, would probably come to the conclusion that American democracy, as practiced today, is a failure. The majority of our elected representatives have higher loyalties than to the people they represent—to their parties, to lobbies, to a persuasive president who rings them up on the telephone, serves them breakfast, invites them to Camp David for the weekend. Not only during campaigns but in routine performance of office, in press conferences and media interviews, most of the officers we elect are groomed by speech coaches, briefing drills, party strategists, kingpins and princemakers. They are processed as surely as packaged goods in a supermarket.

“Bodies Politic ” from the book “Trivializing America” (1983)