Humour. An interesting topic. You say it is "one trait no liberal has." I assume you mean that humourously?

Perhaps what is missing most from the whole current political debate is simply that people have actually lost the ability to debate. Instead of trying to convince one another through reason and logic, the conversation degenerates into name-calling, labelling, and questions of morality and belief.

How about trying to discuss a topic without any reference to established political parties or even using words like "conservative" or "liberal". I would love to see a debate about the actual issues without seeing it degenerate into a quarrel over which person has made more mistakes in his life.

Making a broad and sweeping statement which everyone knows to be false adds nothing except bad feelings. So why not stop it? Not every liberal is a drug-taking beatnik living off of government hand-outs. Not every conservative rides around in a pickup truck with a shot gun mounted on the ceiling and yelling profanities out the window at visible minorities.

I have yet to find a single self-avowed conservative who doesn't believe that some of the ideas coming out of socialism are actually necessary and good. I also have never found a self-avowed socialist or even communist who doesn't believe in some of the tenents of capitalism.

Using words like conservative and liberal can actually lead ignorant people into a lot a trouble without even realizing it. I assume folks here know that in Russia today, the conservatives are those folks who are sticking with the old communist ideas, while the liberals are the ones advocating for more democracy? Quite the opposite of the typical US view, where conservatives try to portray themselves as the defenders of demoracy and attempt to paint liberals as socialists and closet communists.

Yet both the Russian view, and the US view are essentially correct, even though they seem at first glance to contradict themselves. It all goes back to the definitions of the words.

And that's why it is so important that the actual definitions be well understood by everyone taking part in the conversation. If your world view is simply that conservatives are good and liberals are bad, then in effect you are backing the old Communists in Russia who want a return to Leninism.