The political paralysis in Washington is often ascribed, depending on partisanship, to Republican obstructionism or President Barack Obama's arrogance. But there are deeper causes. Both parties have had a hard time creating agendas that appeal across ideological, racial and ethnic lines.
There has been a fragmentation of power and purpose that transcends the defects of political leaders.
A partial explanation comes in a report issued last month that describes the changing nature of the American electorate. It's less white, more minority, older and less dominated by any one generation. Fascinating in their own right, these shifts also illuminate the larger origins of the political impasse.