Preview of Post-Election Conflicts

"When Reality Bites"
By DAVID BROOKS
February 12, 2008
New York Times

---

In an earlier post, we expressed both an admiration of Obama's efforts to build a coalition that crosses partisan divides and an appreciation of the difficulties involved. In this article, David Brooks, of the New York Times, offers a clear and succinct statement of these difficulties. What does our field have to say about strategies for meeting this challenge?

---

There's a big difference between the Republican and Democratic campaigns: The Republicans have split on policy grounds; the Democrats haven't. There's been a Republican divide between center and right, yet no Democratic divide between center and left.

But when you think about it, the Democratic policy unity is a mirage. If the Democrats actually win the White House, the tensions would resurface with a vengeance.

The rest of the article is available from the New York Times.