Who is the “Moderate” in American Politics?
By Dennis Peacocke

To be in the middle, the so-called “moderate,” the political “edges” must first be clearly defined. Indeed, very little is truly defined in the American political scene because America is primarily the land of political pragmatism. “Pragmatism” is not overly concerned with “left” or “right”; it is concerned with what works. The real question shouldn’t be about “moderates,” but rather what works, why it works, how to make it better, and what can make it worse? Welcome to the American mainstream mind.

Why are George Bush and Hillary Clinton so vilified and hated by so many? Is it because they are perceived as being too ideological by the pragmatic collective mind of American voters? No. It is because the ideologies of both the left and the right perceive the true nature of the conflict between one another, and are doing everything they know to demonize George and Hillary as representatives of what they hate. Currently, the left is much more effective in their public poisoning of Mr. Bush because the left largely controls the media. Fox News and conservative talk-radio are gaining on the right, however, and Hillary should be getting ready to take her “fair share” if she secures the presidential candidacy. As usual, mainstream American pragmatists are looking at both the economy and our collective American security as the real indicators of who to vote for in November.

All the current candidates for their party’s nominations are generally behaving as well-coached “moderates,” which really means American-styled pragmatists. The issues are largely discussed in terms of what is working or not working rather than by what specific major principles should or should not guide this nation in the long run. The “American people” are constantly referred to as “knowing what is right” which is a simple populist language strategy to call us all back to our pragmatic roots.

While all this pragmatism is not clearly discussed publicly, in some ways it acts as a short-term safety mechanism. Sometime in the not too distant future, our current policies will force us into a truly non-pragmatic national debate on basic values and long-term strategies. Until then, we will “moderately” wobble our way down the slippery slopes of American pragmatism, even though it is not a real solution to our many problems. Indeed, it is not even a beginning to their solution and that is...