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Rather than focusing on the questionable Supreme Court decision which put an end to the cliff-hanger of the last presidential election, or on the dysfunctioning of the Electoral College, this article examines one of the structural trends which made this electoral crisis possible in the first place, namely the partisan and ideological stalemate between the two candidates. The gradual transformation of American parties into top-down organizations geared towards fund-raising, while labor unions and the advocacy groups left behind by the social movements of the 1960's have retreated from grassroots political organization to concentrate on Washington-based lobbying and litigation, have increasingly weakened the connection between people and politics. Candidates are all the more disengaged from any program commitment as the new conservatives have infused political rhetoric with the apolitical theme of "values", whereas the Clinton legacy of "Goldilocks" (third-way) politics has further blurred the partisan divide between Republicans and Democrats. In their search for a bipartisan center, candidates have no clear mandate and offer little accountability, other than the promotion of the hidden agendas of their core constituencies.