Thanks. I have been very happy to have been able to build decent relations with you and Buddy and some others of the Administration's more reasonable critics. As you know, my tolerance for the over- the-top rancor here was practically exhausted after 9-11. (I still tend to treat Watson with kid gloves, because he seems a little "off" to me, but I am not so sure I will continue to bother.)
Except for a fringe, as Americans, we have a lot more in common than is commonly acknowledged. That is practically guaranteed by the need for the major parties to moderate themselves in order to create embracing coalitions, and capture the unaffiliated. I think that is a good system, even if sometimes it seems to move too slowly or compromise too much. People make too much of the fact that Presidential elections tend to split evenly, as if that is an indication of polarization. Actually, it is an indication that a lot of people don't care much who is president, since each seems acceptable. That is why Bush could lose the popular vote, but begin his presidency with a 55% approval rating. As a conservative, I think that any big shift in electoral politics, even in my direction, should take time and be subject to a lot of debate.
Good luck fishing, and Happy Holidays! |
