Questions That Blur Political Party Lines

摘要

Presidential election season is not the best time to be a policy wonk. Seminars at Harvard's Kennedy School or colloquia at the National Academy of Sciences can feel like exercises in the theater of the absurd when voters seem eager to turn the choice of a vice president into an episode of "American Idol." As experts in universities, think tanks, and professional organizations debate the fine points of position papers and action plans, ever hopeful that this will be the election when substantive policy debates take center stage, campaign strategists work feverishly to craft the bumper sticker that will somehow capture the whimsy of voters on November 4.rnThe urge to simplify is not the inclination of only the disengaged, the uninformed, or the cynical. During this season, we all tend to become Manicheans, seeing the world in black and white. The nations problems somehow align themselves so that the solutions are either Democratic or Republican. Even those of us who should know better can convince ourselves that the election results will determine everything about the course of policy. There is no doubt that the election results will dramatically influence some very real and meaningful decisions. Sadly, Supreme Court appointments have come to hinge more on political orientation than constitutional insight, and any question related to abortion has become highly polarized. On numerous other questions, party affiliation will play a role, but we should try to be realistic about how strong that role will or should be.