Spaw, I haven't read anything by Ellul, but as recounted by you it sounds like a bit of an overstatement to me. Yes, the system will force politicians to moderate their positions and/or behavior to some degree, but the strengths, weaknesses and inclinations of the individuals in charge are not meaningless. This may be particularly true in the early days of a Presidency, when the new Administration's patterns are being established and the rest of the world is reading the signs to see how business will be conducted under the new regime. I still feel that we disengaged from the Middle East in a fairly significant way in the first year of the current Bush administration, that this was noted by the players in that region, and that it allowed that situation to spin out of control more quickly and profoundly than would have been the case if we had stayed involved.

But of course, we'll never know for sure; this is all just Monday-morning quarterbacking.