Just another of my rambles -- you can dismiss it if you wish.

It occurs to me:

The Democratic party is the party of compassion -- the desire to help the less fortunate. The Republican party is the party of realism -- one that realizes we live in a real world, where resources are not infinite, and not everyone can have everything they want just because they want it. In both parties there are many who see their positions as the only valid ones. They do not admit any value in the other position. I see President Obama as the greatest example that I have seen in a long time, on the national scene, of a politician who has the confidence in himself that he can hold both ideas in his head at the same time, and try to balance them. He does not always succeed, as he is bombarded from all sides by those who can only see one thing. But he tries.