Other nations, such as Australia and Belgium, go a step further and make voting mandatory. Those who fail to cast their ballot are slapped with a small fine, about $20. It works. In those countries, voter turnout is not universal but it's awfully close -- about 85 to 90 percent.

Opponents of mandatory voting claim it is un-American, since in our country rights always trump responsibilities. Surely, the critics say, voting is a choice that each individual should make -- not the government. Yet there are plenty of aspects of our lives where the government compels us to act: getting a driver's license, for instance, or registering for the draft.

One reason that mandatory voting and other measures to improve voter turnout have floundered here is that they make politicians nervous. Republicans worry that more voters means more votes for the Democrats. "Experience around the world suggests that raising voter rates favors parties of the left," writes former Harvard president Derek Bok, in his book "The Trouble With Government." But, as Bok points out, even Democratic lawmakers resist reforms that might increase voter participation. "Politicians of every persuasion who have managed to get themselves elected under the current rules will worry about the effect of a large infusion of new and unpredictable voters," he says.

Of course, even if people could vote with the click of a mouse, many Americans probably wouldn't bother. They don't think their vote will make a difference, and they don't like their choice of candidates. Here, too, we don't need to reinvent the wheel. We need to import a new model.

2. Campaigns

It's a wonder the United States doesn't produce a higher caliber of politician. After all, no other country spends as much money -- or as much time -- electing its leaders. The U.S. presidential campaign lasts more than a year -- and members of Congress are perpetually in campaign mode. In Germany, campaigns last only 10 weeks; in Britain, they're even shorter, about 30 days. Voters in these countries do not feel short-changed. In fact, one can argue that the shorter campaigns focus voters' attention on the issues, while the marathon U.S. campaigns have a decidedly numbing effect. "People get fed up and after a while they just tune out," says Arthur Gunlicks, a professor at the University of Richmond in Virginia who has written extensively about the differences between American and European election campaigns. "If the campaigns were shorter, presumably people would be more willing to pay attention."

The United States is virtually the only country in the world that does not provide free television time to political parties or candidates. In countries such as Britain and Germany, the state provides each party with a block of TV slots, based on their relative strength in the Parliament. The slots are 5 to 10 minutes long, considerably longer than the 30-second blitzes of sound and fury that are U.S. political ads. Public financing of campaigns, the norm for most other democracies, means that candidates can focus on the issues instead of the money. Let's look at two fictitious politicians: Fred, a member of Congress from Denver, and Klaus, a member of the Bundestag, the German Parliament, from Munich. Fred spends much of his day attending fundraisers, meeting with representatives of political action committees, and plotting his fundraising strategy with staffers. In his spare time, he votes on legislation and meets constituents. Klaus, on the other hand, doesn't worry about fundraising. He does spend lots of time campaigning -- in fact, more than Fred -- but it is real campaigning, giving stump speeches and addressing the issues, not attending gala events, cup in hand.

No wonder campaign-finance reform is a uniquely American cause. For most democracies, it isn't an issue, because there is hardly anything in need of reform. Yet we Americans stubbornly cling to the belief that we couldn't possibly learn anything of value from other democracies.

3. Question time

To date, President Bush has held only 12 news conferences since taking office, far fewer than Bill Clinton or even George Herbert Walker Bush. Rarely does the public have a chance to hear George W. Bush unscripted. Not so for Bush's ally, Tony Blair. Every Wednesday at precisely noon, the British prime minister is peppered with questions from members of Parliament. The 30-minute sessions (aptly called Question Time) are raucous and unruly -- a kind of democracy reality show -- with M.P.'s hurling insults at the prime minister, who, in turn, hurls them back at the "right honorable gentleman." Question Time is partly political theater -- these days, what isn't? -- but the British public has a regular opportunity to see its leader respond to the most pressing questions of the day without a teleprompter or a handler to guide him. Many other countries, from Japan to Australia, also have some form of Question Time, and therefore a greater degree of accountability and transparency.

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