I've said it before and I'll say it again. Democracy just doesn't work.

I'm finding myself deeply amused by the uproar surrounding this season's American Idol results.

See, we all know that American Idol is a popularity contest. Plain and simple. Just like high school, really. The snarky mean kid tells you who to like and you're supposed to toe the line. Unfortunately American Idol doesn't want you to believe it's all a popularity contest. It wants you to believe it's about talent, that it is about finding the best singer, that Kelly Clarkson, Rueben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino and Carrie Underwood won purely on the strengths of their pipes and their dedication. Umm hmm. And Richard Hatch could really survive on a deserted island and wouldn't be eaten by a slow-witted snake in the first week.

And now, after last season's victory by the singularly unmarketable Taylor Hicks over Chris Daughtry and Katherine McPhee, the producers are sweating over this season. It's one thing to have kids with actual talent discarded early. Like he did with Jennifer Hudson and Daughtry, Simon Cowell can recant the criticism and say - "hey, we put them in finals, we always knew they were great. It's America who decides."

Well this year, American has decided to vote en masse for Sanjaya. Cute, harmless, talentless Sanjaya. And producers have no-one to blame but themselves. Though Cowell bitches about Sanjaya's baseless fan base, he can't deny that he and producers colluded to put the telegenic kid in the finals and to spend a heck of a lot of screen time on his 'story' in the early rounds. So now, Sanjaya has a big fan base and the support of votefortheworst.com and their own biggest fan, Howard Stern (Check this link for a great interview with the founder of votefortheworst). Apologists for the show argue that a Sanjaya win would destroy the show's integrity. But doesn't that assume the show had some to begin with?