Common Ground: How to Stop the Partisan War That Is Destroying America Book

Preface to the Paperback Edition     vii
Introduction     1
Preface: Who We are     15
"Why I Am a Liberal"   Bob Beckel     17
"Why I Am a Conservative"   Cal Thomas     23
Where We are     27
The People vs. the Polarization of American Politics     29
The Polarization of American Politics     38
"The Rest of Us"     46
Congressional Stories     55
The Parties     61
The Press, Fund-raisers, and Myths     69
The Gathering Storms     85
Storm Clouds from the South     87
A Circular Firing Squad     94
"I'll Never Lie to You"     99
Roe v. Wade     103
The Reagan Revolution     109
Storms     115
Iran-Contra and Bob Bork: The Peace Ends     117
The Politics of Personal Destruction     126
Polarization's Poster Children: Bill Clinton and George W. Bush     131
Clinton Years/Clinton Wars     134
Clinton's Revenge     143
George Bush Rides In     146
War Abroad and War at Home     151
The Way We were     163
A Change of Culture     165
When Adults Were in Charge     169
Bipartisanship     174
The Power of the Parlor     177
Common Ground     183
Common Ground: Slogan or Choice?     185
Common Ground: A Campaign Guide for 2008     193
Selling Common Ground     204
Thoughts and Conclusions     251
Epilogue     259
Acknowledgments     263
Index     265