The buzz of politics lingers in the background of culture like a perpetual muzak but on a daily basis it pretty much slips under the radar screen of the nation s collective interest.
Most attention is focused on the increasingly newsworthy roller coaster ride of financial markets.
During this time that perpetual background hum of politics gets crafted into short, sharp advertising sound bites. The popular view is that our two big parties are involved in a clash of ideologies. Democrats stand for equality and greater federal control. Republicans represent freedom and greater state control. Yet while ideologies have traditionally defined our political parties, the real difference may be more psychological than ideological.