In a parlementary system, canidates are chosen directly by the party they represent, but in the US canidates are chosen through many elections of party members, one from each state, and each state having a different election system, decided by that state's government. Witch makes the choosing of canidates more democratic in the US than it is for people who live in parlementary systems. Then, the 2 top dogs fight it out in the big election. I can see how someone who doesn't live in the US can think that Americans dont have alot to choose from, but that is simply not the case. I don't have hard data to back this up but I don't agree at all. I lived in 5 different countries. How about yourself?

Also the President has a lot less power than people give him credit for. He is head of 1 of 3 equal branches of government, and even his branch is divided up into hundreds of officials who have varying degrees of autonomy. Congressmen and sentators are voted in by the people they represent and like presidential canidates, have a high degree of diversity of thought and policy between those who happen to share a party.

Also, never lived in a country where the head of state, i.e. Trump, had that much power. I've been in the US for well over a decade.