"I have been reading David Broder's columns for many years. He has always been consistent in his approval of "centrism" as the best approach to good governance.

"What is centrism? According to Broder, it appears that centrism is a mathematical splitting of the difference between the two parties. This requires an assumption that both parties are equally extreme. One must also assume that the American people are mathematically right there in the middle between the two parties. To Broder, centrist politicians are those who really try to govern from the middle.

"That sounds sensible. Unfortunately, while centrism might have made sense in the 50s and 60s when politicians on both sides of the aisle tried to work together and the mood of the American people truly encompassed the left-wing of the Republican Party and the right-wing of the Democratic Party, centrism began to erode with the rise of the conservative movement in the 70s. It completely disappeared in the post-1994 era of Newt Gingrich and his ilk.

"If you mathematically split the difference between the two parties today, the American people are nowhere to be found. Clearly, the American people lean heavily toward the Democratic Party. We now have a right-wing party (Republican) and a centrist party (Democratic). If Broder disputes this, he should check the polls in his own Washington Post.

"On issue after issue, the majority of the American people disagree with conservative values, once these values are fully explained without the obfuscation of Republican talking points. Go down the list: Social Security, public education, fairness in the workplace, environmental protection, consumer protection, etc. You do not need a Ph.D to see that the Democrats have more support on the issues.

"Of course, the biggest issue of all is the Iraq War. With the exception of Ron Paul, each Republican candidate for president affirms that an unprovoked invasion of Iraq was the right thing to do. That position is far from centrist.

"Between 2001 to the beginning of this year, conservatives were unchecked altogether. In a way, this has been a good thing. The American people have seen the full flower of conservative government. Now the reviews are in. The American people really do not like what they see.

"It is time Broder discarded his antiquated theory of centrism, which, it seems to me, is Dick Morris triangulation by another name. He wishes for a return of the good old days. But time moves on. Broder should get with the changing times or find a new line of work."