I think it is important that we understand it. Pat Buchanan s popularity is a result of many factors. But one very important thing it shows is that nowadays populism is at least as powerful as centrism. Whether you agree or disagree with Mr. Buchanan on a host of issues, everyone is aware that he is not a political insider. And as one political analyst, Kevin Phillips, pointed out recently, much of what Pat Buchanan has to say about what s wrong with America echoes the words of such dissimilar political leaders as Reverend Jesse Jackson and Ross Perot.
Populism cuts across the traditional labels of right, center and left.
Populism has made a gigantic return to the American political scene. It cannot and will not yield to grassroots politics. It is a party that can do nothing but seek out the center at a time when the American people have become highly mistrustful of the center. It s that kind of political centrism that white middle America rebelled against in 1992 when 20 million people voted for Ross Perot. It cannot be absorbed into the two-party arrangement.