  July 18-24, 2007   Open Mic  Political Unrealities  By
Patricia Lynn Henley  More people vote for American Idol than
cast ballots in the last U.S. presidential election. And now
we're facing a mind-numbing battalion of pontificating
candidates standing behind podiums in their sincere navy suits
and red power ties. More than 15 months of campaign activities,
commercials and mud-slinging mailers sprawl ominously in front
of us like a psychotic nightmare.  Other countries impose strict
limits on campaign lengths and tactics. Japanese candidates are
allowed one campaign car, a small amount of posters and other
printed materials, and a limited number of government-financed
commercials or television appearances for a campaign lasting
only 12 days. In Canada, the longest national election campaign
was 74 days in 1926; the 2006 campaign was 55 days.  But that
would never fly in the United States. For one thing, too much
money is generated by the three-ring circus that is our
presidential election process. Endless s