Is this real life?

Is this real life?

"The institutions are democratic, not only in their principle, but in all their consequences; and the people elect their representatives directly, and for the most part annually, in order to insure their dependence. The people are, therefore, the real directing power; and although the form of government is representative, it is evident that the opinions, the prejudices, the interests, and even the passions of the people are hindered by no permanent obstacle from exercising a perpetual influence on the daily conduct of affairs" (p 87).


This particular situation does not seem to be the case today; how many times have we seen candidates run an a certain platform to get elected and then act in opposition to that position once in office? The majority of deTocqueville's description seems idealistic and I wonder if he is painting a truly accurate portrait of American democracy, or if it's been jazzed up to show that a "perfect" democracy can exist.