Way too much stuff has been said for me to respond to it all, but...

Many people feel like what is wrong with American politics IS the weakening of party allegiance among the electorate.

Due to our electoral system we will always have a 2 part system. Thus, for practical reasons, neither party will have a coherent ideological position that determines the party's stance on every issue (unlike the Communist Party or the Libertarians). Our system also precludes the success of single issue parties like we see so often in Europe (Greens, National Front, a bunch of others whose names escape me).

As a result of our 2 party system, voters should select the party whose platform most closely matches their own beliefs, or choose the party which they feel will best serve their personal interest, and then vote strictly along party lines regardless of who the candidate is. Because there are so many swing voters in the middle now - being influenced by such irrelevant factors as candidates' looks, speechifying skills , single issues, etc... - both parties are becoming increasingly centrist, pandering to the shallow and fickle middle.

In all honesty, it is my personal opinion that Kerry was finally chosen as the candidate to oppose Bush because he "looks" most like a President should and will appeal to those in the middle whose vote can be swayed by such things. He certainly wasn't chosen based on his sterling record or his great orating skills, eh? The media annointed him the presumpive nominee and now all he has to do is trot out and look good for the cameras.