I do not think this is a uniquely American phenomenon - just look at the political careers of Mr. Walesa in Poland or Mr. Berlusconi in Italy. These are the worst cases of celebrity frenzy, arguably second (after mob violence) worst case of human collective stupidity.
Jerzy Kosinski exposes some aspects of that in his book _Being there_. The book borrows heavily from (some say it plagiarizes) a Polish novel written in the 1930s. Its protagonist is a small town unemployed office clerk who came to Warsaw looking for work. He finds a wallet that some big shot lost, and in it is there is an invitation to a VIP banquet. The protagonist has not eaten for a few days, so he sees it as an opportunity to stuff his mouth. He borrows a suit, goes to the banquet, loads a platter with food and heads to the back to devour it. As he walks through the room, somebody bumps into him and all the food lands on the floor.
The protagonist, outraged by the sudden loss of his first-in-a-few-days meal loudly rebukes the person who bumped into him. He is sure that by know his true identity will be discovered and he will be kicked out right away - but something really strange happens. A group of important-looking people approach him and congratulates him on his courage. Nonplussed, the protagonist mumbles that he did not mean to be rude, it was just the loss of his favorite salad that put him over the edge. The important-looking people are thrilled by his answer, because as it turns out, the rebuked person was a very important government official. They introduce his to other important people who also dislike the current government.
From that point, the plot proceeds in a steady and predictable fashion. The protagonist merely acts as himself - a semi-educated, street-smart thug and speaks up his mind, albeit vaguely, as to betray his humble status. The very important people interpret it as a radical departure from the polite mumbo-jumbo of elite-talk, and treat him like a sage saying cryptic yet understandable words of wisdom. His career picks up supersonic speed, as he is appointed to higher and higher offices, marries the daughter of a wealthy land-owner, and his popularity among the elite soars.
Only one malcontent character sees that emperor has no clothes and tries to expose the protagonist as fraud. However, nobody listens. At the end, following a political impasse, the protagonist is offered presidency of the republic and at this point he is starting to have second thoughts whether to accept the offer. The book ends without telling the reader if the offer was accepted.
In a twist of irony, the Polish TV showed a film based on the novel the day after Mr. Walesa was elected president. Of course, Mr. Walesa had none of the reservations expressed by the protagonist, and accepted presidency as a his-birth right - only to be turned into a laughing stock and loosing in a land slide to an ex-Communist in the next election.
Democracy as we know it sucks. It is pretty unreasonable to expect people who have difficulty managing their own lives to make wise political decisions. The people have spoken, and it sounded like a big fart.
Wojtek