Welcome to America in the Middle

Welcome to America in the Middle, a forum created to discuss and promote the advancement of a moderate America. The 2004 presidential election was one marked by extreme divisions in the United States electorate. Anger points were put forth by each side in an attempt to create a dichotomy in America. For the war, pro-life, pro-gun, anti-gay marriage--If you were any of these things you were a Red-state conservative. Against the war, pro-choice, anti-gun, pro-gay marriage--Any these things meant you were liberal and from either the Northeast, West Coast, or Lake states. In reality, America's political views have always been more diverse, and even in November 2004, most Americans were some shade of purple. However, a jaded America was forced to decide between an the admittedly highly conservative incumbant administration and supposedly the "two most liberal senators in Congress (Fox News)."

Luckily, two years changed everything. The 2006 mid-term elections were an overwhelming victory for the Democrats who unseated the Republican majority, but it also marked a giant leap towards the middle, from American voters frustrated with a corrupt rubber-stamp Congress, a war with no perceiveable end, new highs in the deficit, new lows in health care, and a failed immigration policy that had not been firmly addressed by either party in a decade. Americans came from both sides of the two-tone political spectrum to a center that had not been represented for six years.

For proof of this, look no further than to the self-positioning of '08 presidential contenders before and after the election. Hillary Clinton, formerly liberals' leading lady, reiterated her support for the war but denounced it's "mismanagement" to make herself more conservative. Senator Sam Brownback, from my homestate of Kansas, who before the mid-terms was the ultra-conservatives' pick for the Republican nomination, based on his dedication to his extreme positions on social issues, has now denounced the troop surge in an attempt to balance himself to the new apparent national opinion. The only unfortuante exception in this political metamorphisis has been John McCain, who, in an effort to make himself palatable to the extreme elements of his party, has come out in stringent support for Bush's "surge," and has likely scuttled his presidential hopes at the same time.

One thing is certain, that without any incumbant running for presidential nomination, this will be the most open election since the Cold War. It will be one worth watching, and we will be watching out for the America, caught in the Middle.