A Republican politician who inherited a family tradition of moderation was fuming with frustration: “What a crazy place Congress is! My wonderful dad has to be turning over in his grave, and I am a close second!” Hosts and producers “really don’t want us moderates on TV,” the politician added, because they refuse to say outrageous things just to get tube time.

A press critic who lives in a fancy house on Pennsylvania Avenue agrees completely. In recent interviews, President Obama has returned repeatedly to a favorite theme: In the current media culture, “the loudest, shrillest voices get the most attention” (as he put it on “60 Minutes”). That makes it far harder for pragmatists in both parties to find common ground and solve the nation’s most intractable problems.

American politics has always been a contact sport. During the 1884 campaign, Grover Cleveland was accused of fathering an illegitimate child and greeted with the taunt, “Ma, ma, where’s my pa?” His opponent, James G. Blaine, was depicted as a tattooed man, covered with the indelible stains of scandal.

Still, there is a lot of truth in what the Republican, and the president, had to say. Look at Rep. Joe Wilson, the backbencher from South Carolina who rocketed to fame by uttering two words, “you lie,” during the president’s healthcare address to Congress. Following his outburst, Wilson probably got more ink and airtime than all House moderates put together.