Positive-Sum Politics

Is the promise of change nothing more than a sweet memory from the innocence of primary season? With the initial euphoria surrounding the landmark candidacies of senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as well as the early victory of Senator John McCain, the maverick conductor of the “Straight Talk Express,” in the Republican primary, many Americans—and people around the world—looked forward to the dawn of a new era in U.S. politics.

However, soon into the spring, the dark forces of political reality began to sink in. As it turned out, Obama was no saint and McCain was still largely beholden to the Republican base of President George W. Bush. As Obama and McCain’s skilled, calculating sides as politicians were burnished, many began asking what if anything is changing.

Perhaps the most striking change in the U.S. political landscape, underlined by the candidacies of Obama and McCain, is the shift away from the intense polarization of recent years toward...