What if electing a President were more like American Idol?

DISCLAIMER: I confess right out of the gate, I'm not a fan of either major-party candidate. As with many past elections, I won't be voting "for" someone in this election cycle -- my vote will be because I don't want the "other guy" to get in office.

I'm frustrated by our political process. It's broken. Increasingly, election campaigns are degenerating into a contest of popularity -- what a person looks like, rather than their values. We elect candidates based on their oratory abilities, rather than, what they stand for, their experience, or their abilities.

And it always comes down to a contest between members of two parties: Democrats and the GOP. Third party candidates (Libertarian party, Reform party, Green party, etc.) have some really thought-provoking and powerful ideas. Hardly any one knows about them, because these candidates get zero air time. Their parties lack the funding to get their message out, and the deck is stacked heavily against them.

Did you know, for instance, that there isn't one ballot for the presidency? There are actually 50, one for each state. Party candidates need to petition to each state individually to get on their ballots. Each state has their own procedures and steep filing fees that must be paid before a candidate can get on their ballot. Doesn't that seem incredibly inefficient?

And if you're not a member of the DNC or GOP, forget about getting your message or plan in front of the American people. Sure, you can build a website, maybe even get a few thousand followers behind your platform -- but that's as high as you'll rise.

Why don't we just run elections the same way we run American Idol? Perhaps a twist on Donald Trump's "You're Fired!" ... we'll call it "You're Elected!". Or even better, an election process similar to the reality show "Survivor"?

Sixteen candidates, four parties, and weekly 2-hour broadcasts of candidate footage as they move through a maze of simulated political situations. Each week, the American public would get a chance to vote someone off the island, or in this case, the campaign trail.

I mean, if we're only going to look at how good or bad a candidate looks for the few weeks of the campaign, and not give any attention to the last 40+ years of their life or the substance of their political agendas and plans -- why not run the election like a reality TV show? I daresay we'd learn more about the candidates, get more involvement from the public in the process, and end up no worse with the final surviving candidate.