Whats different now is that while political leaders used to give talking points to talk radio, now talk-radio hosts are giving talking points to political leaders. Its all part of the suffocating spin cycle were in. In media, politics and publishing, the conventional wisdom is to play to this base.

We need to punch back against the extremes of both the left and the right and define the terms of the debate ourselves.

If you only take offense when the president of your party is compared to Hitler, then you're part of the problem.

Politics follows the lines of physics: every action creates an equal and opposite reaction.

By pumping up hyper-partisanship, our country (America) is playing with forces that can easily get out of control. We are giving purpose and cover - and sometimes a sense of purpose - to the crazy among us. We are encouraging a culture of extremism

But in his Farewell Address, George Washington made it clear that he perceived no greater threat to the American experiment than a partisan demagogue who 'agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against the other'

Right now, politics follows the rules of talk radio - using conflict, tension, fear, and resentment to find new recruits.