are merely organizing principles. There is no basis for political parties in the US Constitution and no mention of them.

The US is not limited to two political parties, and in fact we can have--and have had- many parties with candidates for president in every election.

The fact of the matter is that it suits the American style to try and boil down to two teams opposing each other. By coopting minority positions the two majority parties maintain a balance that seems to suit most Americans. In our winner-take-all system more than two parties are fragmenting and skewer the electoral process. Where there are many parties that persist, there is usually proportional representation.

The American system is can understand by tradition, having a winner and a loser. That gives us the "wait until next year--or term, or whatever spirit you see in our football, baseball, and yes, in our elections.

We are not restricted to two parties. But we like being able to focus on only two world views at a time.

Publius