A few weeks ago, my Uncle Bob sent me an e-mail reporting that a friend was suffering from "electile dysfunction." This is a malady preventing a voter from being aroused by any of the candidates!

The person suffering from this affliction must have been a Republican. The Democrats have the opposite problem. Hillary and Barack's supporters are zealous and fervent. (The delightful David Brooks writes in this morning's New York Times: "Have you noticed that [Obama] is actually carried into his rallies by a flock of cherubs while the heavens open up with the Hallelujah Chorus? I wonder how he does that.") The problem for the Democrats may be that when either Hillary or Barack prevail for the nomination, that the loser's true believers will be so bitterly disappointed that they won't support the winner with much enthusiasm.

Of course, that's already happening among the Republicans. I was as stunned by the announcement that Mitt Romney was quitting the race, as his audience was at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. That leaves the Republicans with John McCain, who is too middle-of-the-road to inspire ferver. The strong emotion among the Republicans seems to be anti-McCain! James Dobson, of Focus on the Family, declares that he won't vote for McCain in the fall. (As far as I'm concerned, that reflects very well on McCain! And I keep wanting to call Dobson "Pat Dobson"; but that's because Pat Dobson was a pitcher for the Orioles.) Another divisive ultra-conservative, Tom Delay, said yesterday that he was not sure whether he would vote for McCain over a Democrat in the general election. Delay said, "If he continues down to be the same old John McCain that used to have disdain for the conservatives, then I'm not sure who's the most dangerous to be in the White House."

This year's nominating process is just too much fun! In the midst of it, there's a tantalizing possibility dangling in front of us: that whoever is elected President in November will actually want to reach across the aisle to find consensus solutions to the daunting problems that face us. John McCain and Barack Obama have worked this way their entire careers. Hillary Clinton has done this during her years in the United States Senate. What a refreshing improvement that would be in our nation's politics!

But I'm not assuming that would be the case. After all, remember how the current President Bush promised he would govern in that way, when he was running for his first term?