Still in search of centrality
I have been out with a lantern looking for an hon-- oops! centrist man. My search has proven fruitless. My candidate, Mark A.R. Kleiman refuses to cooperate. He is less than enthusiatic about my effort to draft him as the right hand of 'centrality.' He says, "In the immortal words of Jim Hightower, "Ain't nothin' in the middle of the road but yella lines and dead armadillas."
Furthermore, my impetus for the draft, Calpundit Kevin Drum asserts that Mark, whom I consider rather conservative, does not qualify for the role. "BTW, I'm pretty sure Mark is a pretty liberal guy. If he's your benchmark for the right end of liberalism, that makes the liberal movement mighty small."
What's a diva to do? Mark says he's anti-extremist, but does not define extremism other than a hint he isn't fond of the Rev. Al Sharpton. Kevin says most of us liberal bloggers don't realize how far Left we have drifted, suggesting I may be too blinded by the Left to choose wisely.
I could try to set a midpoint on the liberal continuum by drafting someone, say Jim Capozzola or Brad DeLong, as the elusive middle C of 'centrality.' I can't recall either of them ever expressing an opinion that was radical or even strident to my ears. But, evenso, would either pass muster with Kevin?
Apparently I have circled back to the question I asked at the end of my first blog item about centrality: Whose center should prevail? If we can't agree on what positions on the issues are central, can anyone's?
