It is intended as a safeguard against the rise of class-based parties or those that serve specific political interests, by forcing politicians to appeal to the widest possible audience and build broad alliances from the start if they hope to become a serious candidate. This has helped to make American politics the preserve of a relatively narrow middle-class electorate; most working-class Americans did not bother to vote in a system that seemed far removed from their concerns, even before the general fall-off in voting rates across the Western world.

Yet even by the past standards of US presidential elections, this is a non-political contest, reflecting the exhaustion of both the traditional Republican and Democratic blocs. Obama, whose candidacy has so energised the race, embodies the current state of affairs.

Candidates offer final messages before Iowa caucus

I have always admired your family and the things they stood for. I was in college when that fatal day came and we no longer had our inspiration, your brother. I am disappointed in who you are endorsing. To think about all the times that the Clintons were here for you, and now you just put them aside. I think about it, and I thougt you were above the good old boys. Not so sure about that now. Hillary, a women. Maybe that just does not sit well with you Kennedys. I just don't understand. She is a great lady that certainly helped your party out by staying with Bill. The party owes her more than a senate seat. She should have all of you out there shouting her attributes. It was alright for Bill to be used to get votes for our new governor. He also has a short memory. I will have a hard time voting for either one of you because of this.

The significance of the Grammys

Mattoon native Will Leitch is back in the Midwest after a West Coast swing promoting his new book, “God Save the Fan: How Preening Sportscasters, Athletes Who Speak in the Third Person, and the Occasional Convicted Quarterback Have Taken the Fun Out of Sports (And How We Can Get It Back)."

While he's got a book that selling well (unless, he says, the people at Harper Collins are lying to him and he can't read them well enough to figure that out yet) and a number of writing gigs, Leitch is happy to continue doing Deadspin, the Gawker Media sports blog that made him one of the most influential sports voices on the Web.

Honda FCX Clarity: A glimpse at the future

Additionally, it's not actually a pollution-free vehicle, despite having a garden hose for a tailpipe. Creating the hydrogen stored in the car's fuel tank requires the burning of fossil fuels, usually natural gas. This is a similar dilemma plug-in hybrids face. The theory looks good on paper, but may create new problems on the current infrastructure in the near future. Furthermore, energy is lost when creating hydrogen initially and it's lost again in the conversion back -- an inefficient system for such an efficient vehicle.

However, Honda points out creating hydrogen fuel releases 60 percent less CO2 than gas cars generate in a wheel-to-well comparison. And Honda is experimenting with producing hydrogen fuel through solar and wind-generated means -- a method that could make the Clarity's total carbon footprint disappear.

Taxi driver robbed in armed stickup

A taxi driver was robbed at gunpoint about 12:05 a.m. Jan. 19 as he responded to a call for service in the 100 block of 11th Street.

The driver arrived outside an apartment building and got out to see if there was a customer. A man nearby waved to him then approached, pulled out a handgun and held it to the driver's throat and demanded money.

The robber grabbed a bag out of the cab with $98 and ran away.

- A food deliveryman escaped being robbed about 9:40 p.m. Jan. 19 in the 900 block of Plaza Drive. The man was delivering to a home that turned out to be vacant. When he returned to his car and got in, a man with a handgun demanded his money. The delivery man rolled up his window, drove away and contacted police.

- A 24-year-old man was arrested and charged with theft of a firearm following a traffic stop about 10:15 p.m.

Hip-Hop Rumors: Ex-Gunit Member Disses Young Buck! Bow Wow Gets In ...

OK, there are too many idiots online to focus on one, but I am just going to say. If you are an idiot, stop being an idiot and get a job or just find a coffin to crawl inside of. I don't mean anybody on this site or even some “rap site." I mean, the idiots with nothing better to do in life.