Three Myths of the US election campaign

It figures a German is needed to explain US politics. Gabor Steingart has written an interesting piece for Der Spiegel, about three myths of the presidential campaigning. The third myth he mentions is the myth of a divided nation, or rather that being divided is somehow bad.

Democracy thrives on differences of opinion, which translate into differences between parties. Promising to put an end to this ongoing dispute makes about as much sense as a supermarket manager announcing plans to combine the meat and produce departments -- and justifying his decision by saying that the management wants to overcome the decades-long polarization between steak-lovers and vegetarians.