President Bush likely will continue his with-us-or-against-us approach tonight in the State of the Union speech. So why do media reports suddenly suggest that compromise is a virture?

Now that Democrats control Congress and statewide government in Washington state, media seem fixated on the need to find common ground. One example: NPR’s series on how the parties work together.

It’s local too. KPLU reports that Republicans have named three of their strongest to the Senate Education Committee in order to thwart spending on Gov. Chris Gregoire’s top legislative priority. But they’re not obstructionists standing in the way of better schools; they’re portrayed as loyal opposition to spendthrift Democrats.

Democrats need accomplishments in order to hold their lead, so it’s worrisome when “compromise” is touted as the new goal. Voters want concrete action and elections should stand for something. One Republican got it right in an NPR report about California’s politics: “Voters didn’t elect me to compromise. They elected me to stand for something.”