I would have to say I agree, and even that Sabrina was voted off in favor of Haley.

This is why we shouldn't advocate mail balloting across the board.

Hmmm.
I've no dog in that hunt, James, but your comment makes me wonder how many voted in American Idol, vs how many people voted in the last election?

Bithead,

Even more telling would be not just the raw numbers, but the overlap/disconnect (voted in both, voted in one but not the other, voted in neither). Taking it one level deeper, which candidate at the various levels did they support.

Now hold on a moment. You're saying Sanjaya is a worse American Idol than Jared?

Face it: we have a bad set of guys this year. Chris Sligh and Blake Lewis are contenders. Phil Stacey and Chris Richardson are top twelve material. The other eight guys simply weren't in the same league. It doesn't matter when they drop, they're going to drop.

Sabrina's droppage is a shock for me, too, but she had one major problem - she looks WAY too much like Barbra Streisand, which to many American Idol voters is grandma's music. And Haley, Stephanie, and Gina just aren't on the same level as Jordin, LaKisha, and Melinda anyway; like Sabrina, they're simply not long for the competition.

Every year, someone gets robbed. From EJay in season 1 to Ayla in season 5, somebody goes before they deserve to go. And while it might look like Sabrina's the unfairly eliminated this year, I'm betting LaKisha's loss turns out to be the shocker.

Furthermore, the *real* American Idol always comes in second. Justin Guarini, Clay Aiken, Diana DeGarmo, Bo Bice, and Katharine McPhee were the rightful winners. So Chris Sligh will deserve it, but not get it - the title will instead go to either Melinda or Blake. My money's on Melinda, but I'm not counting Blake out just yet.

I spend too much time analysing American Idol.

I don't think the electorate is based on the 12-16 year old voting block that makes up Sanjaya's base.

Now, when they come of age, be afraid, very afraid.