Embed Notice

@lauren
I have friends whose political views I strongly disagree with but we get along fine because they're not trying to *implement* those views - and we can have fun debating over a beer and then move on to other topics.

Politicians (such as Al Gore) can get along fine with other politicians they disagree with because they operate in a world of "win some, lose some" and often have to compromise a lot to get anything done, on the theory that half a loaf is better than none; and - with the costs of electioneering in this country - that often means a lot of compromise of principles. But I have to live with the consequences of all those compromises, so my opinion of a politician is legitimately very different from Al Gore's.

For any given politician, it's hard to tell how much they're compromising in order to get enough donations to get re-elected - and whether they're doing this because if they don't get elected, the alternative is far worse.
Yes, I'm being cynical^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hrealistic.