Ukraine crisis, or is it US?

Double standard towards what is happening in Ukraine and what happened in US only three weeks ago continues to bother me.  A lot!

Here is an excerpt from today's WP editorial

"Mr. Putin, who has channeled hundreds of millions of dollars into the prime minister's campaign, is backing the imposition of an authoritarian system along the lines of the one he is creating in Russia -- with a propagandistic regime, controlled media, official persecution of dissent, business executives who take orders from the state, and elections that are neither free nor fair."

In what kind of a parallel universe these guys live?  What about us here?  If you apply the same criteria to US, we are already as close to authoritarian system as one can be.
Let's see...(more below the fold)

Propagandistic regime?  Check.  I know one when I see it - I did grow up in Russia after all...

Controlled media?  Almost there.  Although it is not controlled by the government directly, it is controlled (to a large degree) by government friendly corporations and, on top of it, effectively intimidated by current administration.

Official persecution of dissent?  Again, may be not "official" and wide spread yet, but there is obviously an open contempt for dissent and an effort to suppress it.  We are just step away from persecution (or are we?).

Executives who take order from the state?  Well, may be here it is reversed...It is administration that takes orders from executives.  Does it make our situation better or worse?  I am lost here...

Elections that are neither free nor fair?  Definitely not fair.  Free?  Probably not, considering how many voters were denied their right to vote through various "creative" tactics.

We (and by "we" I mean official US position, not kossaks) convinced that elections in Ukrain were stolen based on exit polls, but everything is just peachy here.
Of course no one took to the streets in US and Kerry timely accepted still unofficial results.  Why media should be concerned?  After all only 20% of population thinks that elections were not fair.  Others seem to be satisfied, even when not happy.  My question is: what would it take for people to become concerned with a state of our democracy?
It is like a person who thinks he should take better care of himself, exercise more or something, but than looks in the mirror and thinks "Sure I don't look as good as 20 years ago, but I am still all right, forget exercising..."  He probably would be more concerned if he looked in the mirror and didn't recognize himself at all.  Are we there yet?