AS A YOUNG AND ENTHUSIASTIC supporter of George W. Bush's election to the presidency, I remember being annoyed by a bumper sticker that popped up all over America in early 2001: "I Miss Bill." Now, in 2023, as the Republican mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma, I find myself frequently feeling the way those disappointed American drivers did. Especially relevant to today's polarizing times is President Bill Clinton's theory of triangulation, which neutralizes polarized politics in pursuit of the common good.
Such bipartisanship is viewed as ancient history these days, with neither Democrats nor Republicans in the compromising mood. Yet what Bill Clinton achieved through triangulating a middle ground between the loudest extremes was astonishing: He kept us out of war, presided over massive economic expansion and produced the only balanced budgets we've enjoyed in the last half-century.
So why don't we talk about Clinton that way? Clinton's legacy suffers from the same challenge all of us who seek common ground face: He didn't treat the other side as a personal enemy, a hated foil to whip up support against. He was just exceedingly competent, creative and successful. And because of this, he lacks a noisy extremist crowd cheering his victories over the hated other side.
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