An Irony of Democracy is it Depends on Elites to Make it Work
This Alternet analysis of struggle between two competing elite factions for control over the US strikes me as worth reading.  It is possible that, as a Red Sox fan (just can't call myself a Yankee, so this will have to do), I am overly willing to see southern politics as a 'brutal strain of American artisocrats.' Even if that is the case, however, this still seems like a worthy read.