But more important than what the loss says about the parties involved is the opportunity it may bring for serious alternatives in 2008. If Lieberman wins the general election as an independent, it could be a galvanizing force for the silent majority of voters standing between two party extremes. This momentum could very well produce an independent presidential ticket from one or both sides of the aisle.

Imagine the possibilities: Giuliani-Lieberman, McCain-Rodham Clinton, Biden-Gingrich? OK, that last one’s a little far-fetched. But the idea of center-right and center-left coming together is not. The center-left is anxious to distance itself from the more pacifist elements in the party. On the right, a once stable bridge between libertarians and social conservatives is now on fire as a result of the Bush administration’s embrace of big government and congressional Republicans’ obsession with constitutional amendments banning gay marriage and flag burning. ~Michael Van Winkle, The Chicago Tribune

Does the “silent majority” want more and more wars?  A McCain-Clinton ticket would make sure they got them!  I don’t know which combination listed above horrifies me more.  The convergence of the the “hawkish” wings of the two parties suggests to me that any combination of two such hawks on the same ticket would mark out any new “centrist” position as one made up of hegemonism, an ideological nationalism and a constant desire to resort to military action to fight the latest incarnation of Hitler.  It would be a party built around little more than the aggrandisement of government power and the reckless projection of power into places where have no business being.  If that is “moderation,” “extremism” is not only preferable but becomes positively virtuous.