Even when partisan fevers are raging, show business has a way of taking precedence. I remember speaking with some Mexican journalists covering the 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta. During the last decade, such conflicts have been swept under the national rug, with high-profile progressive Democrats moving from restraint to quiescence. In 1996, at the Chicago convention that renominated Bill Clinton, the party was in lock-step. Many journalists have added to the de-politicizing of politics by focusing on the personalities of leading politicians.
Scripted performances can be entertaining, whether in a theater or on the nightly news.
When members of the House and Senate took curtain calls for their roles in the impeachment drama, they voiced eagerness to finally get back to work on solving the country's problems. But the real solutions won't come from the customary actors in media-defined dramas. It's time for people in the audience to move beyond passive acceptance.