The presence of political opposition has, for centuries, been taken as a sign of good societal health: freedom of expression, democratic values, and the decentralization of power (i.e. checks and balances). Predating the genesis of the modern liberal democratic electoral tradition, the
The mainstream political media – from top-rated television programs like Meet the Press to David Brooks and Thomas Friedman in the New York Times – tells America a story of perpetual partisan bickering. Democrats and Republicans are retreating to their extremes rather
