The Tribe Will Speak

CBSNews.com's Editorial Director Dick Meyer, trolling the pop culture waters, has come up with a name for this year's midterm elections: the "Survivor" election. You can find his column here. Below, a choice nugget. - Ed.

2006 is...not a watershed year. Perhaps it might be dubbed the "Survivor" election: a bunch of people will get voted of the island, a different tribe may get the upper hand but the game will go on unchanged and in the same direction.

This midterm will not be a historic humdinger for several reasons. Even if the Democrats get control of the House by a large margin and slender control of the Senate, there will still be a Republican president whose vetoes will stand. So while it's possible selected and important Democratic measures might pass, like a hike in the minimum wage, the ship of state will not be changing course — it will be holding steady and steering for the port of 2008.

Polling and common sense also tells us the voters are deeply disenchanted with both parties and with the institution of Congress, not just with George Bush and the Republicans. The voters will throw a lot of rascals off the island this year, but the new set of rascals will also be at risk. That makes realignment a pipe dream.

All this does mean that the dominant political architecture of the last, well, 38 years will stand — divided government...

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