ted:
1) money matters
2) are you an expat?
austerus & denu:
1) you either don't give the average american voter enough credit, in which case if he is as uninformed and manipulatable as you think he is, that's depressing
2) I get what you're trying to say, but the math doesn't add up. People calling on behalf of candidate X (hypothetical incumbent) shouldn't matter. If someone lives in district X where representative X is, and district X is an incredibly conservative, catholic district, they wont vote for candidate X if he's pro-life regardless of hwo many signs are on lawns or what have you. Money does not really equal votes, and denu, i've taken my fair share of poli sci classes, and i dont have much respect for the field. So to recap: either voters its are so stupid they vote for whoevers name sounds familiar (and if they're that dumb, special interests groups aren't making a difference anyway), or the 99% likes things the way they are.
My opinion:
nothing will ever change because the average voter is not stupid per se, just really apathetic.
Oh and Ron Paul usually raises more on individual donations then any other candidate, GOP or Dem. It's not as if he's spending all out, it's that the only people who are polled are the ones who really care, the paul nuts 365 days a year