Moderates vs. Partisans

The Washington Post's column, Department of Human Behavior, is often an interesting mix of academic research with journalistic readability. This week's column looks at how moderates and partisans see the 2008 election.

With America divided right down the middle for the third presidential election in a row, most people would not be surprised to hear that Democratic and Republican partisans perceive a widening gap between their presidential choices. In 2004, for example, die-hards in both parties felt that the choice between George W. Bush and John F. Kerry was much sharper on a host of issues than in any presidential contest going back to 1984.

But when political scientist Marc J. Hetherington quizzed moderates, he found to his surprise that he got the opposite answer. Compared with party loyalists, moderates saw far less difference between the candidates. If anything, moderates in 2004 saw the Republican and Democratic nominees as being more alike than in any election since 1988.