The Effects of the Loss of Civility and Rationality in Political Discourse

One of the things have said here, from my first post onward, is that centrism, as conceived here, is less about lack of conviction or even moderation - whatever that means - than tone and lack of raw partisanship. In this interesting Wall Street Journal column, former Rumanian intelligence officer and naturalized U.S. citizen Ion Pacepa discusses some of the costs America, and freedom, of the bitterness and over the top rhetoric of American politics. I particularly like his reference to former DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe's doormat, a small matter which always struck me as the height of juvenile behavior with no seeming regard for the dignity of his position or the importance of world affairs.