We live in era which is not big on nuance. Presidential tweets have far more impact than well-researched books. Declarative phrases like “Fake News!” are now seen by millions of voters as a legitimate presidential response to massive front-page investigations in The New York Times.

Everything is either black or white. One side either won, or they lost. There is almost no room for anything in between because, among other factors, the media’s need for a drama-filled, simple-minded, short-attention-span narrative demands that there be no ambiguity about an outcome.

It is this context in which we are about to have maybe the most significant midterm election in our nation’s history (for real). Based on the conventional wisdom, there is an excellent chance that we are going to end up with a split decision, with Democrats taking control of the House, and Republicans maintaining a slim but sturdy majority in the Senate.