What used to be

This is from a comment found on Smirking Chimp. It's good:

There was a time not so long ago when what distinguished liberals from conservatives was not their ends so much as their means. We might have disagreed on the best way to improve public education, but no one would have suggested that it could simply be discarded. We might have argued about the most effective way to maintain our infrastructure, but no one would have suggested that it could be ignored. We might have disagreed over our interpretations of the Constitution, but no one would have suggested it was irrelevant.

And no one -- no one -- would have dared to suggest that torture was acceptable as public policy.

I remember that time. I miss it sorely.