-Convention machinations to get someone elected are certainly nothing new. And a statement like "The public needed Russia" to shine a light on these machinations, in the context of this being an example of a bad direction, implies... that previously, these machinations came to light on their own?
-Similarly, with respect to the unpopularity of the EU, it's the unpopularity that's new, not the EU. And I think it's hard to say if Euroskepticism over the past 5-6 years is due to the Treaty of Lisbon more than broader economic uncertainty. Is the EU gaining power, or do people just like it less?
I don't want to have too Whiggish a conception of history, but I think there's a big difference between "The world isn't as democratic as it should be" and "The world is getting less democratic," and I keep finding it hard to find evidence for the latter.