Is America’s political system facing a meltdown? Dire symptoms of a breakdown are evident.

The public is irreparably divided on virtually every issue, large or small and vital or trivial. Neither political party is able or willing to compromise on solutions. And the political discourse is as nasty and vicious as it has ever been, demoting truth and fact to non-relevance.

The most dangerous symptom, unprecedented in American history, is that both parties regard the other as “threats to democracy.”

President Joe Biden argues that the threat of this era is between democracy and autocracy. Abroad, China, Russia, North Korea and Iran are principal forces of autocracy. At home and if elected, former President Donald Trump would end democracy as we know it and become a “dictator.”

Trump calls Biden “the worst president” in American history. Trump has accused Biden of weaponizing the Justice Department against him. Initially vowing “retribution” and “revenge” by bringing a successful administration, Trump has reversed course. Revenge will be against the political opposition. And one think tank and one former aide have produced a blueprint for “revolutionizing” the........

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