What do we gain by having a vote?

"I think that our (US) democracy is a shallow popularity poll. What do you think? "

If our "shallow" democracy is such a sham, why don't you propose a better form of government or election vehicle?

I think your description of our political system is "shallow".

Actually, I remember reading something a year ago about how our vote is silly. The electoral college is a very inefficient means of voting. It doesn't actually convey each person's thoughts. A few mathematicians came us with 2 or 3 other methods that would mathematically guarantee every vote counted equally. But of course, I forgot what those were. ;-)