Democrats also maintain a far more benign view of Washington, D.C. than do Republicans, so they more readily embrace politicians who have spent their whole political careers in the nation’s capital. The candidates on-stage for the recent Democratic debate in South Carolina represented a combined total of more than 150 years of Congressional experience.

Republicans, on the other hand, look askance at federal power and often turn to “outsiders” who honed their leadership skills in state capitals like Sacramento or Austin, and come to D.C. to “clean it up” rather than to launch new programs. Conservatives may view all government as a necessary evil, but tend to see state and local governments as more necessary and less evil than the federal bureaucracy. Many Republicans want to eliminate cabinet departments like the Department of Education not because they don’t support public education, but because they want it controlled and funded and operated at the local and state level.

In the upcoming election, the two parties will probably select nominees who re-enforce their respective identity as “The Senator Party” and “The Governor Party.” Democrats will almost certainly select a legislator to head the ticket (Clinton or Obama or Edwards) while Republicans will most likely turn to an administrator (Giuliani or Romney--- though McCain remains a possibility despite his exclusively Congressional background).

The people will ultimately make their choice based on the usual factors of personality and promises but they will also do some soul searching as to what they want from the next president. If they feel basically optimistic about their own lives and want a federal government that’s better run, but not fundamentally different or bigger, they will turn once more to the “Governor Party” – the Republicans. If, however, they’re convinced that they’re in personal peril, threatened by out-of-control economic and international forces that require aggressive governmental initiatives to counteract them, they will probably choose “The Senator Party.”

The contrasting approaches remain inscribed on the two parties’ partisan DNA and also determine very different choices as to their candidates.