Our system is better, but we still manage to elect shitty politicians. These politicians are backed by the state media, RTÉ, who are a monopoly for the most part, as their competitors are small (and mostly in agreement with RTÉ). Theoretically, Americans could elect a candidate who is neither republican nor democratic, but it seems like your media is pretending that third parties either don't exist, or that they are weak and incompetent. Don't know much about your third parties.