Pakistan, April 2 -- Dickens called it the "best and worst of times" in his Tale of Two Cities. His great novel contrasted the relative stability and prosperity in London with the chaos and confusion in revolutionary Paris. In some ways, this mirrors the profound differences between our two political parties.

The US public appears irreversibly divided on virtually all issues whether vital or trivial along party lines. On those few issues that are supported by a large majority, gun control and a woman's right to choose, progress is blocked by small minorities.

Some 75% of Americans don't want either Joe Biden or Donald Trump as president; the Republican party in Congress is imploding; the wars in Gaza and Ukraine are worsening; China is ...