Why you might just miss old-time political bosses

Although the new system is more democratic than the old, it hasn’t produced better results. By reducing the influence of party leaders, it favors campaigning skills over governing skills. Relatively inexperienced candidates benefit. This helped elect Presidents Carter and Obama, but once in Washington, they had trouble governing. Trump’s bombastic campaign rhetoric is an extreme example of the same tendency. Entrepreneurial politics has not elevated the level of debate or the quality of candidates.

We have moved from party-based politics to personality-based politics. Image and ideology count more than ever because candidates — at all levels of government — try to differentiate themselves from their rivals, both inside and outside their party. Our politicians are increasingly freelancers, dependent on their own hard work, political savvy, fundraising ability and public-relations skills.

Because candidates heavily determine their own victory or defeat, campaigning has become a full-time way of life, with all its extravagant and unrealistic promises. This feeds a cycle of disillusion, as voters first have their expectations raised and then dashed. In this self-absorbed climate, party discipline suffers, and it’s hard to craft pragmatic bipartisan compromises.