Or will he?
I thought it might be a good question to also ask, "How is our country divided now?"
It seems to me that our country is divided less and less by race and by class (our traditional divisors) than it is by ... I don't know what to call it. It's almost as if we are trapped in a sort of irrational political war, in which the sides are the Guelphs and the Ghibellines instead of our traditional Democrats and Republicans. Neither side seems really to embrace a concrete vision besides, "We're the ones who are not crazy."
I'm as guilty of this as anyone else. To me, the Republican agenda seems simply insane. It is based on fantasy, on superstitition, on fear and on hatred. The old, genteel GOP known for its frugality and common sense is long gone. But reading the right wing blogs, they think the same of us.
Can anyone truly bridge this gap, which has grown so huge, and unite the country? What kind of bones could a Democratic politician possibly throw a Republican ... someone who believes that the state owns a woman's body, that religion is the foundation of American government, that law enforcement should know what happens in your bedroom ...
What are our common interests these days? Where is the intersection point where a candidate can appeal to people of both parties?
Can Dean unite a divided country? I'm not sure he can. Can any other candidate? Looks pretty grim ...
I'm still undecided on this one and would appreciate hearing back from other people with all sorts of ideas related to this topic.