The Importance of Vision
By Michael G. Franc

The Gallup Organization has asked voters to state their party preference for 70 years now. One insight the Pew Research Center gleaned from a close review of these polls is that, almost invariably, the president’s political party loses ground during his years in office.

At one level, this finding makes sense. Presidents invariably face hard realities in the Oval Office that require them to make tough decisions, the sort of decisions that expend their political capital.

So, Gallup found, when Democrats control the Oval Office, loyalty to the.....