I don’t think we are dying. No other people in this era of elected authoritarians have been able to get rid of theirs—only Americans. Around the world they were paying attention and took hope. I hate that 74 million of my compatriots voted to keep in power our worst president, who convinced most of them that the election was stolen. The stab in the

One last thought: Let’s assume that we find the political will to begin the process of creating some version of the glide path option, which we admit is not easy. That means the most important election in this whole process was not the one last November, nor will it be the one in 2012. Rather, it will be the one in 2014.

For partisans on both sides, new policies enacted are not as important as keeping the pot boiling by galvanizing voter and donor enthusiasm. Indeed, achievements gained can be less helpful than achievements thwarted