Any Political Machine Can Come to an End

Any Political Machine Can Come to an End

An upcoming municipal election may reveal some clues about the drift of American politics, and about the nature of politics itself.

Political machines thrive, only to die one day. Witness what's happening in Atlanta. Based on both our own InsiderAdvantage surveys, and on a poll by the highly regarded SurveyUSA, it appears that one of America's most powerful municipal political machines is sputtering to a halt -- that of the nearly 40-year reign of African-American mayors in this town.

Atlanta was one of the first major cities in the...