Where’s art of political compromise?

Last week was filled with drama on a number of fronts.??We observed the sixth anniversary of the horrific events of 9/11. We also heard from General Petraeus, Ambassador Crocker and President Bush on the situation in Iraq.??The usual suspects from the sordid side of our popular culture, including Britney Spears, got their 24/7 media coverage, too.

Leaving the more titillating topics of pop culture to others, I considered writing on where we are and where we may be headed in Iraq.??Then I remembered that tomorrow is Constitution Day.??So, I decided to defer commentary on all that in favor of some reflections on that ‘Miracle in Philadelphia.’

The Constitution was written in 1787 and signed on Sept. 17.??However, it wasn’t ratified by the necessary nine states until 1788.?? Of the 55 delegates named to the Constitutional Convention, only 39 actually signed the document.??The Constitution was crafted in secret, behind closed doors, under tight security.?? The framers thought this necessary to ensure the free flow of discussion and debate on the thorny issues facing them.

In the race to ratify the Constitution, those who favored it wanted quick approval.?? Those who opposed it demurred because it lacked clear language on the protection of individual rights.??The inclusion of those rights in the first 10 amendments, known as The Bill of Rights, erased most of that opposition. ??

The success of that Miracle in Philadelphia was largely due to the delegates’ willingness, and their will, to compromise on some of the more contentious issues.??Indeed, they raised the art of political compromise to levels rarely seen before or since on matters that otherwise would have stopped them in their tracks.?? The ‘bundle of compromises’ that were written into the Constitution included agreements on how states large and small would be represented in Congress, and how the president would be elected, using the Electoral College.

Although history does not reveal its alternatives, I believe the framers’ willingness to compromise, and their will to compromise, made the difference in turning what could have been a dismal failure into a stunning success of historic proportions, in 1787 and beyond.??

Now, 220 years later, we can look back and honor that same spirit of compromise that has contributed to a growing, evolving, living, and enduring Constitution that has served us well through good times and bad.

Unfortunately, the art of political compromise is all too rare among our national leaders today.?? What to do about the mess in Iraq is a case in point. While our leaders in both parties sternly lecture Iraqi leaders on the need for ‘national reconciliation,’ they seem oblivious to the irony of doing so even as they lack the willingness and the will to compromise on Iraq, and on other pressing issues, foreign and domestic, facing our nation.??

These issues transcend party lines. They deserve bipartisan leadership by example, not just exhortation.??They also deserve a healthy dose of political compromise, reminiscent of 1787, for any meaningful solutions to occur. ??

Thomas B. Vaughn is an instructor at Motlow College and co-host of the radio show ‘Viewpoints,’ which airs on WCPI 91.3 FM.