Idea of Centrist Campaign Gains Support

I’ve been half-expecting to see desire for a centrist platform to be raised during the ‘08 campaign crumble under the weight of details, as well as momentum from the Dem/GOP duopolistic juggernaut. So, I was very encouraged to see this article in the Washington Post:

New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a potential independent candidate for president, has scheduled a meeting next week with a dozen leading Democrats and Republicans, who will join him in challenging the major-party contenders to spell out their plans for forming a “government of national unity” to end the gridlock in Washington.

Those who will be at the Jan. 7 session at the University of Oklahoma say that if the likely nominees of the two parties do not pledge to “go beyond tokenism” in building an administration that seeks national consensus, they will be prepared to back Bloomberg or someone else in a third-party campaign for president.

Conveners of the meeting include such prominent Democrats as former senators Sam Nunn (Ga.), Charles S. Robb (Va.) and David L. Boren (Okla.), and former presidential candidate Gary Hart. Republican organizers include Sen. Chuck Hagel (Neb.), former party chairman Bill Brock, former senator John Danforth (Mo.) and former New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman.[...]

“Electing a president based solely on the platform or promises of one party is not adequate for this time,” Boren said. “Until you end the polarization and have bipartisanship, nothing else matters, because one party simply will block the other from acting.”

It looks like the rubber is starting to hit the road. What will be most interesting to see is if that group (or Unity ‘08) can stay focused on realistic stances, rather than getting too hung up on particular positions that lean in one direction or another in the political spectrum.