Chet Edwards was out thumping his common ground, bi-partisanship drum this weekend. Where? Oh, at the Bush Library in Bryan-College Station (that's Poppy Bush's library.)

The congressman discussed how skepticism of the goings-on in Washington was healthy, but that the current cynicism was not. Though Edwards said there was more bipartisanship in Washington than most would realize, it's the one bill out of eight where Republicans and Democrats bicker that ends up making headlines.

Edwards noted the low approval ratings of Congress, and said he believes overly negative campaigns and districts that are now largely one party or another have been contributing factors to partisan politics in Congress.

Personally, I believe a lot of the cynicism comes from when one sees *Democrats* who vote with Republicans and work behind the scenes to take out accountability from those in power.

"I do hope that both presidential nominees from both parties, whoever they will be, will respond to the public outrage over partisanship by making strong commitments to seek common ground," Edwards told the gathering.

Hasn't there been enough *common ground* even since Democrats took power? I'm kind of tired of hearing the partisanship issue as a tool. I WANT to see some standing up for ideals and, by definition, that means one is a partisan.