The Washington political world anticipated another boring presidential battle fought out along the same lines as always: A nicely polished candidate would be chosen by the Republican Party’s billionaire donors, and he would advance with trumpets blaring over the extremely familiar terrain of the culture wars. As the Democrats prepared to meet the anticipated Republican foe, they felt that they, too, could do what they always do: offer bromides on the economy and encouraging words to the various groups that made up their coalition. They would talk about innovation and education; they would
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