We’ve lived through nearly a quarter century of intense polarization with no clear dominant political party. Unless last night’s presidential debate changes the race as dramatically as June 27’s did, we could see an election as close as 2000’s based on the current polling.

But don’t say political realignments are impossible. Former Vice President Dick Cheney’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris completes a major shift within the parties, if not between them.

It is tempting, and at least partially true, to say that the two least popular and most radical vice presidents of the 21st century have been brought together because of a family beef. It is difficult to imagine Cheney following his daughter in a crusade against the former President Donald Trump if Trump hadn’t engineered Liz Cheney’s 39-point defeat in a Wyoming congressional primary. The elder Cheney was the highest-ranking Bush 43 administration official to endorse Trump in 2016, despite the indignities suffered by Jeb(!).

More significantly, however, Democrats have decided they hate Trump more than they dislike the foreign policy of George W. Bush. Former Republicans who can loosely be described as neoconservatives and their fellow travelers have increasingly left, or been driven from, the party in the Trump era.