SALENA ZITO: Cyclical Politics Can Lift GOP.

America is famous for its political duality, despite the vitriol of the left and right wings of its two major parties.

It has a slim, moderately progressive majority when it comes to social values and a slim, moderately conservative majority when it comes to economics. . . .

Political schizophrenia is in our national DNA, which is why “wave” election cycles occur fairly frequently and parties rarely hold the White House for longer than two consecutive terms.

Despite sometimes nasty election cycles, when we shift from one party to another, the creative tension that this fosters has always been a source of our national greatness.

“It would probably be bad for the country if one side or the other ever truly won and forced everyone to conform to the tenets of conservative or progressive politics,” Nichols said.

Fortunately for Republicans, American politics is cyclical — which means that if one side is up today, it is assured of being down in the near future, as the political tide slowly ebbs and flows.

Well, a rising tide will lift your boat — unless you’re busy knocking holes in the bottom.