Reality TV and Presidential Politics?

40 million Americans watched the final episode of "Survivor." Survivor is where 16 ordinary Americans are dumped months ago with a million dollars awaiting the one who outlasts all the other the longest. This is a reality television show and more people are watching this than watching the political conventions. Also more people are gossiping about Richard and Rudy, Susan and Kelly than are talking about George W. and Al.

This may be because reality television is more real? more spontaneous? more unpredictable? more in tune with people's lives than America's stage managed focus groups?

Reality TV is - manipulative the people are manipulative, and selfish, and opportunistic, and shallow. It's sending the signal that this is a good character, you're rewarded for all of those terrible attributes.
It's getting a bigger audience because there's more news coming out of "Survivor"?
OR
This show, the CBS show is better produced.

Fake shows like this "I Want A Divorce," where real life divorcing couples compete against each other for their own property.
"Chains of Love," in which a woman is chained to four men and must let go of one man until the day she's left with her dream date.
"The Mole," a game where a group of people try to compete in a series of tasks, and it ends up one guy is a mole and he subverts the task.

Why arent there more shows such as "Touched By An Angel,"

People may find politics boring, but it has been ever thus. Nearly 20 million people a day listen to Rush Limbaugh, 2 million people who listen to my show, are passionately involved in the political process. There have always been a large number of people who have chosen to tune out on politics. I'm not sure that many of the people who are watching "Survivor" aren't just voting with their feet, saying that they don't care that much about the political process.