More about partisan bickering here, here and here.
Update: I'm getting tired of constantly being accused by Obama supporters of trying to hurt him if I write anything about the foibles of bipartisanship. I'm not crazy about his stump speech on the subject, but it's not really about that.
I'm actually trying to help all the candidates, by shining a light on how the villagers seize the political agenda with their tiresome insistence on "unity" and bipartisanship as the highest of political virtues. I'm trying to give readers a bit of perspective on what we're up against. This is about Broderella and the sell-out Bush dogs and the VRWC and how they manipulate things to keep the status quo. It's analysis, not advocacy.
Yes, it's possible that Obama (or Edwards or Clinton) will lead the way to change the dynamics, but change is not all about one person. It's about a whole bunch of moving parts --- the media, the parties, the constitution (which was designed to slow down precipitous change), the well funded and highly developed conservative movement. Money, power, ego, bureaucratic torpor are huge forces, and while I don't expect the candidates to talk about this in detail in town meetings, it seems to me that the rest of us should.
I believe that in order to change the way things are done, you have to move institutions as well as move people's hearts and minds. I happen to believe that takes partisanship --- which also includes progressive infrastructure, grassroots support and a long term strategy.
My critique is about the inherently conservative political establishment, which is actively working, right now, to distort the campaign and box in the new Democratic president to keep him or her from being able to enact progressive policies. It's what they do.