How Not To Compromise

As high-stakes fiscal showdowns have become a constant feature of our national politics, calls for compromise have come from every corner and are growing louder. But political compromise, to paraphrase Mark Twain, is a bit like the weather: while everyone talks about it, no one does anything about it.

Maybe that’s because we’re confused about how we should compromise. It’s certainly true that we live in an overly polarized political culture and that governing requires more than the base-pleasing demonization and posturing that feeds campaigns. What we need now, though, is not compromise for its own sake; it’s smarter compromise. And that means two things: finding a real middle in negotiations (it’s not where Washington thinks it is) and getting politicians to yield on matters of principle.

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