On the Margins: A fair point, Flyer, at least as far as reducing governmental sprawl. But policy boondoggles like the Medicare prescription drug entitlement (without means testing) or the neutering of the Freedom to Farm Act principles (followed by their wholesale rejection by the farm bill Dubya signed) emphatically move beyond the margins.

Perhaps I miss your point. It is true, I think, to say that the policy differences between the D's and R's often come down to what might be termed marginal squabbles (e.g., do we shovel $500B of pork into this bill or $600B?). In that sense, I agree that the margin, in as much as it represents a deviation from the current political center, is where policy is made. Still, it provokes only, er, marginal optimism.