It is painfully ironic that Lee Sherman Dreyfus, Wisconsin's last populist governor, died on the eve of the Iowa caucuses, which mark the beginning of what will surely be the most disgusting, disheartening and dirty presidential election this country has ever seen.

I had planned to contact Gov. Dreyfus later this month to glean his perspective about what is needed to change the American political system that has devolved into a shameful scheme in which things such as negotiation, consensus-building and doing what is best for the country are outdated notions of eras gone by.

Unfortunately, Lee passed away at his home in Waukesha Wednesday night at the age of 81.

Over the years, I had the honor to engage him in a few conversations about the body politic. For me, it's a shame I did not have that chance to have one more discussion with the man.

But in my heart, I know what he would have said.

Just as in our previous discussions, he would have talked about how dysfunctional our democracy has become. There are no more political incentives to reach across the aisle, to build consensus, to unite people and to do what is best for our communities, our counties, our states and our federal government.

We are a people divided. Red and blue.

Conservatives and liberals, especially in the caucus and primary season, see no reason to find common ground. They play to their political bases. Any bipartisan outreach is seen as weakness or betrayal.

On the right, you hear it on Fox News and local talk radio shows, where conservatives hound any Republican who dares to rock their template boat as being "RINOs," as in "Republican in Name Only."

On the left, you hear the same kind of rhetoric spewing from the likes of the Daily Kos and The Huffington Post.

The truth is often the first casualty of such attacks.

Lee Dreyfus despised such divisive politics. He was a man of principles that transcended party lines. He was at once fiscally conservative, but socially progressive. The former chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point was an advocate for public education. He signed the nation's first gay rights bill in 1982. He endorsed Democrat Linda Clifford over Republican Annette Ziegler in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race last year.

He was a Republican, but he held little in common with the noisiest factions of that party today.

His legacy will be that of the maverick with the red vest.

This country needs more mavericks, more people on both sides of the aisle courageous enough to do the right things. Not the Democratic things. Not the Republican things. The right things, be they liberal or conservative.

Trust me, this presidential election cycle will make 2004, when "swiftboating" became a verb, seem like child's play.

We've got some critical issues staring us down: homeland security, terrorism, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, illegal immigration, a broken health care system, a record national debt, a record trading deficit, an icy housing market, a credit crisis, record energy costs and a probable recession on the way.

If these two political parties cannot rise above the agendas of the special interests that are pulling their strings, it's time to break out some more red vests and start another party that will commit to doing the people's business.

Gov. Dreyfus, you were a patriot and a gentleman. And you will be sorely missed.