[pepsi_junkie]

A president with 19% approval. And yet the euros are constantly trashing the U.S. for its Electoral College system.

Good point. Many of them have systems where nobody ever gets a majority but the one that can get the most small parties to sign on in return for some favors and government jobs will get to run things. Somehow that's more democratic than the electoral college.

[Buckeye McFrog]

France is a little different because they have a Presidency and it's not quite a Parliamentary system. There is a Danish TV series called Borgen that you can find online. It's a drama about a woman who becomes the first female Prime Minister (the Danes actually did get their first woman PM shortly after this ran). The plot lines go deep into the horse trading, maneuvering and back-stabbing that takes place amongst the parties in a Parliamentary government. Lot of good looking women in it too.