Mark,

Well, I'm not sure if one congressional race is descriptive of the entire congress, since some districts are distinctly more centrist than others. It did once seem like the two parties were becoming more similar and both seeking out the moderates and the centrists, but Bush's last election reversed all that. He pursued a "mobilize the far right" strategy designed by Rove rather than a "seek out the moderates strategy," and it worked for him. I've read some interesting articles recently wondering, given the shifts in momentum recently, if it would work again.

In any case, do I believe that there are any "pure" elected representatives? I don't know. I certainly have no way of knowing what the truth is for 500+ people. But even if there are no "pure" representatives, I am certain that there are some who are significantly dirtier than others, and that the differences still matter. (After all, in the normal world, even though everybody jaywalks or speeds now and then, we still consider murderers to be more of a problem for us than normal people are.)

What really bothers me is how the congressional districting has been so messed up that incumbents of both parties have almost no chance of ever losing. They just keep giving the same extreme lines to their pre-selected voter bases and they easily get re-elected That means they never have to deal with compromises or grapple with complicated positions, which contributes to the absurdly adversarial atmosphere in Washington. It's a shame; as stupid I think Schwartzenegger is, he did try to push for a California law that would change their congressional districting to a fair and rational system to solve this problem. Sadly, the law didn't pass. Until we get something done about this, and get rid of all the "advisors" and "television personalities" getting rich off sowing anger and discontent between the two parties, I am discouraged about seeing any real changes.

But over the long run, I am optimistic. Sooner or later, the American public will see the light and stop being pushed around so easily by the media and by political stooges, and they'll demand more mature and reasonable solutions. I personally think the Republicans have done more to create this situation than the Democrats have, but that's beside the point.

The next Presidential election may be a very interesting one. It's a chance for both parties to chart a new direction, and the country seems eager for one. Am I being too optimistic?

Adam King, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Northern Illinois University