In many ways, it's back to the 1830s. The American people reign over the American political world as God rules over the universe,'' he wrote in his famous book, Democracy in America . Today's voters are feeling less potent than those of de Tocqueville's time.
Victory goes to the best mass marketer.
But politics is changing once again. Look ahead a few years, and it could well resemble what de Tocqueville saw. The Information Revolution is likely to democratize politics by weakening the elites' grip on information. American voters, instead of being passive recipients of news and advertising from a few TV networks and national publications, will receive information from hundreds of competing sources, such as E-mail lists and Web sites. What's more, interactive media will let them talk back.