That broad historical perspective

Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III. Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/New York Times.

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That tense moment of involuntary desegregation...

Knowles is famously tone-deaf. As the racial tensions flared on his city’s streets 10 days after the shooting, he told MSNBC’s Tamron Hall, “There is not a racial divide in the city of Ferguson.” When Hall pushed back, Knowles said, “That is the perspective of all residents in our community. Absolutely.” He said later in the interview, “The city of Ferguson has been a model for the region about how we transition from a community that was predominantly white middle-class to a community that is predominantly African American middle-class.” (Jonathan Capehart, Washington Post)

...in the long evolution from apartheid to apartheid. Hey, it's hard for everybody.

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Erik Loomis at LGM calls our attention to the Denver Post's reasons for endorsing Corey Gardner over Mark Udall for Colorado senator:

“If Gardner wins, of course, it could mean the Senate has flipped to Republicans. However, that doesn’t mean it will simply butt heads with President Obama as the Republican House has done,” it wrote. “As The Wall Street Journal’s Gerald Seib recently pointed out, ‘A look back shows that eras of evenly divided power — Congress fully controlled by one party, the presidency by the other — have turned out to be among the most productive” because both sides temper their policies.”

Right. Wikipedia allows you to tote up the evidence since 1901:

• 1919-20–Last two years of the Wilson term, when divided government saved us from the League of Nations, though Congress failed to repeal income tax 
• 1947-48–Truman called it “Do-Nothing”, but I’m sure he was exaggerating. There was that great compromise known as Taft-Hartley, and HUAC went on TV. Also Truman took advantage of the executive order thing and desegregated the armed forces. 
• 1955-60–Hardly counts as divided government. Everybody knows Eisenhower was not merely a RINO but a Communist anyway. 
• 1969-76–Sock it to me! Reformed the CIA! Whipped inflation! 
• 1987-92–Read my lips! Defeated Saddam! 
• 1995-2000–Ended welfare as we knew it! Balanced the budget!!! 

I’m guessing Seib’s memory goes back exactly 20 years. Those were sure the days of compromise and comity, and you can tell by the universally desirable results, if you're writing for WSJ.