The concepts were unintentionally funny, the players about as exciting as assembly-line robots. I mean the Republican presidential debates, not the Super Bowl halftime show. Madonna and her minions were on stage for only a few minutes, but the GOP stiffs won’t go away, and they get worse with each new performance.

Mitt and Newt and Rick will say anything to get the attention of the mainstream media, which dutifully pretend these shameless phonies are men of substance, and that the debates are valuable tools for helping Americans decide which phony will become the nominee.

Reporter Gary Younge won’t go along with the charade, maybe because he doesn’t work for the American news media:

…It is difficult to think of anywhere else in the western world where these debates would have any credibility outside of a fringe party (even if the fringes in Europe are now spreading). Far from indicating America’s exceptionalism, it looks more like an awful parody of the stereotypes most outsiders already believed about American politics at its most bizarre. “Those who follow this race daily may have long since lost perspective on how absurd it is,” said the German magazine Der Spiegel last week. “Each candidate loves Israel. They all love Ronald Reagan. Each loves his wife, a born first lady, for a number of reasons.”

The good news is, with the exception of [Gov. Rick] Perry’s demise, the debates have not been pivotal. The bad news is that the truly decisive element has been something even more insidious: money. Lots of it…

Super-rich individuals and organizations will continue funneling huge sums to the GOP regardless of which would-be nominee “wins” the debates and primaries (except for Ron Paul, of course). Just yesterday, the New York Times reported that Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino executive who gave $10 million to Newt’s campaign, would have no problem spending even more money on Mittens, should he prevail.

Our political system is a farce, and the world knows it. Candidates don’t get anywhere near the nomination unless they agree to front for the monied interests that determine American foreign and domestic policies. The only way to end the farce would be through massive campaign finance reforms of the sort that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is pushing, but most of Sanders’ peers are too corrupted to go along with reform.

They’d rather sing a song for Sheldon. All together now, candidates, lip-synch with Madonna:

When you call my name it’s like a little prayer
I’m down on my knees, I wanna take you there
In the midnight hour I can feel your power
Just like a prayer you know I’ll take you there