THE IRONY OF DEMOCRACY. I still have the 1971 edition I purchased for "Introduction to Politics," which had the number Political Science 101 at Wisconsin. It opens, "Elites, not masses, govern America." That observation is not necessarily a complaint: the book offers ample evidence that mass attitudes toward democracy are sometimes negative and sometimes illiberal.

Now comes a video featuring interviews with Obama voters that suggests scant voter awareness, at least in a cherry-picked sample.

I found this video at Sykes Writes, accompanied by recognition that a small sample says little. I also found a link to a Zogby survey, using the sampling techniques pollsters have developed, that reaches a similar conclusion.

Just 2% of voters who supported Barack Obama on Election Day obtained perfect or near-perfect scores on a post election test which gauged their knowledge of statements and scandals associated with the presidential tickets during the campaign, a new Zogby International telephone poll shows.

I'll give Irony of Democracy authors Dye and Ziegler the last word.

It is the irony of democracy that the responsibility for the survival of liberal democratic values depends on elites, not masses.

I'll also note that the book is approaching middle age, with a silver anniversary edition on offer.