America's Race to the Middle

After Years of Gridlock, Campaign '08 May Yield A New Political Center

By GERALD F. SEIB and JOHN HARWOOD
Wall Street Journal, May 10, 2008

The long, fascinating spectacle of the presidential primaries has all but obscured their potential impact on American politics: Campaign 2008 may break Washington's gridlock by reviving the long-dormant political center.

The public's hunger for a change in Washington's ways has formed the backdrop of this year's presidential race from its outset. When the Wall Street Journal and NBC News surveyed voters in December,1 as the campaign began, almost half agreed that America needed "major reforms and a brand new and different approach" to handling problems.

In the wake of Tuesday's primary elections in North Carolina and Indiana, it appears more likely than ever that the two presidential candidates this fall will be Sen. Barack Obama for the Democrats and Sen. John McCain for the Republicans. They happen to be the two most surprisingly successful candidates of the year, and both got ahead largely by arguing they have unique abilities to bring people together in Washington.

Change may be stirring in other areas that have contributed to gridlock. Voters are pulling politicians toward the middle of the ideological spectrum by registering as independents and calling for centrist solutions. A new cast of political players -- some young, most little-known to the nation -- is emerging to show that there are ways to transcend gridlock by reaching across the aisle.

And a seismic shift has come in the way politicians chase the money they need to win and keep office. A surge in Internet campaign donations by average citizens carries the promise that politicians might become less beholden to special interests on the right or left. Raising more money via the Internet instead of on the hustings may even leave politicians more time to spend in Washington, talking to each other.

To understand why there is a chance for change, it's necessary to first look at how Pennsylvania Avenue, the closest thing America has to a national Main Street, became a street divided in the first place.

(Continued here.)