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The truth is: Having people fight with each other is good entertainment. And where there is good entertainment, there is a lot of money to be made. Political partisanship is a big business. That doesn't make it a good thing for democracy.
Actually, the reason why people fight is because they have radically and irreconcilably different views over issues that are important to them.
Some people want to invade Iraq and some don't. Some want to outlaw abortion and others want it to be legal. Some want to bomb Iran and others don't. Some want universal health insurance and others don't. Some want to prosecute Bush officials and others don't.
The clash of different ideas is actually what "democracy" is all about. As unpleasant as you might find it, nobody -- not even Barack Obama -- will be able to wave a magic wand and make it all pleasantly fade away.
The problem is that we've had far too little clashing of ideas and far too much consensus. I can't fathom anyone thinking we actually need more consensus in our political class, but there are -- obviously -- plenty of people who crave that.
