Majoring in the Minors

What are the most critical issues facing America?

The economy
Record unemployment
Record deficits and debt
Healthcare and the Obamacare Disaster
Tax Policy
National Security/Terrorism
Foreign Policy and the Instability of the Middle East
Direct Threats from China and Russia
Energy

How many of those are being talked about over the airwaves and in your newspapers?

Instead, you'd think the most important issues were:

Gay Marriage
Global Climate Change
Immigration Reform (i.e. Amnesty for Illegal Aliens)
Raising the Minimum Wage
Raising Taxes on the Wealthy

As far as I can tell, the first list might be better described as the list of critical issues for Conservatives.  The second list is critical issues for Liberals.

Exactly right, when you take a moment to think about it.  How can we characterize the two lists, but as a list of practical and objective problems tied to the practical and objective-thinking conservatives.  And a list of esoteric and emotional issues that are less easily quantified tied to the emotion-driven liberals. 

In other words, conservatives want to solve problems, while liberals want to feel good about themselves.

So the parties seem to have picked a side, and have sparked hatred of the feelers against the thinkers.  I don't think it would be fair to say that the thinkers hate the feelers, but they're certainly frustrated with them.