There has been a common misconception about the nature of the American political spectrum. In a naive man's view, the American electorate is like a coin with its two opposing sides, the Left and the Right. At times of elections, one of the two sides of the coin ends up on the top and the respective party prevails, much like in a football game when one team wins and another loses. After the game, the teams and their fans go home and life returns to normal until the rematch during which the losing side has a chance to recover its loss. That familiar pattern, typical for sportsmen-like competitions, is supposed to describe the American elections, according to the said misconception.
