Your way or the highway, Senator?

There are two kinds of political bipartisanship.

On one hand, there's the kind that realizes that, as Americans, we all share a lot of common interests. It seeks to use those common interests to build consensus. That's Barack Obama's kind of bipartisanship, much to the dismay of his more partisan supporters.

On the other hand, there's the attitude that says, "be reasonable, do it my way." Under this approach, prominently displayed during the last few years, calls for bipartisanship are just a weapon with which to bludgeon your opponents into supporting your most extreme policies.

John McCain's acceptance speech, with its call to "put the country first," sure sounded like the first kind of bipartisanship. Good for him! Except most of the rest of the Republican National Convention, and of McCain's campaign to this point, sounded depressingly like the second. Actions speak louder than words.

Yeah, I know, another political post. I should really ignore the news until November, huh?