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"Voting" in the federal political process is no more than a sop to keep the citizens somewhat quiet and bewildered, part of a larger process involving propaganda), disenfranchisement, federal power grabs and more. It works, too; your post is a good example of someone who is under the completely mistaken impression that voting at the citizen level makes any difference at all at the federal level.

The largest voting swing seen in many years just put Democrats in power with the specific intent of getting us out of Iraq; are we out of Iraq? No. Has the funding for Iraq been altered? No. Have any deadlines been set? No. Has anything outside of a bunch of rhetoric been accomplished? No. Well, wait - some things got done: We have more troops in Iraq. We have more funding for the war. Haliburton has more income, more roles, more people working in Iraq. And more soldiers and Iraqi citizens have died. So yes, things are getting done, all right, it is just that, as per usual, they have nothing to do with what the majority of the voters want. Which tells you, if you'll just think for a moment, why some people don't bother to vote. It also completely breaks your idea that the current state of affairs can be laid at the feet of the non-voting.

The president is doing whatever he wants. He is refusing court orders, continuing his aggression on Iraq, issuing signing statements, ignoring the law, and generally making a hell of a mess. Congress and the Senate won't do squat, as they have repeatedly shown us both prior to and post the recent election. Your laying the responsibility for this mess at the feet of the citizens who don't vote is the ultimate act of bewilderment. It isn't the citizens who have set up this system; it is a relatively small group of political animals with money, power, and access.