Well, at last there’s political news to celebrate. I’m looking forward to a Democratic Congress (certainly one half, perhaps both halves) starting to put this nation back on track.

One aspect of the post-election coverage that perplexes me is the seeming acceptance in a lot of the media that the Democrats won because they chose conservative or centrist candidates. That, supposedly, is in contrast to their usual wild-eyed radicalism. As a one-time wild-eyed radical, I have to say that there is hardly a wild-eyed soul left in the Democratic party. Certainly since the late ’70s, the Democrats have hewed to the center. From a European perspective (which was my perspective until 18 months ago), the extraordinary aspect of American politics was that there was no left wing in the electoral spectrum.

In contrast, the Republicans have skewed far to the right. That may have been a successful strategy for a while (and it may be again, although I hope not). But it beggars belief that the Democrats are portrayed as the radicals in the American polity. They are the centrists and the moderates, not their opponents. Let’s get rid of that canard once and for all.