A Good Sign

Well hey. At least Americans care about voting on something:

On Wednesday's episode, it was announced that "Idol" got more than 500 million votes for the season.

Although the 2004 presidential election garnered 122 million votes, Thompson isn't worried. Voters got one ballot in Bush versus Kerry, he points out, while they could vote as many times as they wanted for Bo versus Carrie.

Although the season is over now, watch for the "Idol" machine to keep chugging.

The AntiCentenarian, for one, considers American Idol to be the pinnacle of American arts culture. And this, of course, makes every paid staff member [and unpaid intern] weep endlessly.