D/W have an audience-pleasing, beautifully constructed od that they execute extremely well. It's athletic, it's fast. But V/M have an od that, at the level of the blade on the ice - their blades together and working with each other - is just fiendishly difficult. There is almost nothing they do that is not interdependant and intricate, and yet they pull it off with fantastic timing and unison. D/W were skating their od at top form from the start. V/M were not. For the first 3 competitions they had some connection issues at times, and glitches here and there. They went home after the gpf, deconstructed it, trained it, and came back and blew the lights out at Nationals, again at Olympics. That's why they are over D/W. It has nothing to do with the quality of D/W's od, which was always high. It's how V/M execute their od now, coupled with how difficult it is bladewise, and how intricute and intertwined, the timing required. It's both athletic AND refined - extremely, extremely hard. That's why they get the edge. It is not politics at all. One small slip and they're behind Davis and White. Their od is a harder od, their execution is more refined at the basic skating, but still one glitch and they'd lose the top spot to D/W. The judging is right on.
While I much prefer V/M's od to K&O's fd in worlds 1999? 2000? The reason K&O won the title over A&P was also dance steps. A&P's fd was gorgeous, athletic, deep, powerful edges, eye-catching lifts, very musical. K&O's was not as accessible a program, with their African Drum piece and concept, but the actual dancing, no room for error timing, intricacy and interdependance made it a more difficult program than A&P's, and they nailed it and won. As an audience member I prefer A&P. If I were a judge, I'd have had to agree and place K&O first that night though.
I just cannot warm up to V/M, and I really wish I could. 
hwell:
..just sayin'...
