Political convictions

These are curious political times. In Washington, there is a clamor for compromise and a middle ground: We have a new "bipartisan" fiscal commission. The president held a "bipartisan" summit on health care. At the same time, Americans are expressing their frustration with polarized political parties by attending tea-party rallies. And some key moderates in Congress say they are so fed up with the political games that they are choosing to leave office.

And political games are exactly what we're watching these days. Too many decisions are based on what effect key votes will have on re-election bids. Political compromise has a new definition: You agree with me. Give-and-take has been replaced by goodies-for-votes. Gone is the time when liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats coexisted with both their centrist and extremist colleagues and hammered out deals.

But beware of the labels being bandied about these days. "Compromise," "bipartisanship" and "seeking a middle ground" are useful only so long as core principles aren't sacrificed in the process. Americans are tired of elected officials who fritter away their honor and their convictions just so they can win an often pointless game of one-upmanship. Reason and persuasion are still valuable political tools.