Timothy Egan: American democracy survives its brush with death

The closest I ever came to death was when a ferocious undertow grabbed hold of my wife and I, carrying us out into the raging surf off Puerto Escondido, Mexico. We gagged, flailed and turned purple as we wrestled to stay afloat. Saved by a sandbar, I never looked at life the same way again.So we find ourselves today, still holding our breath, looking back at the bloodied mess of our tattered democracy. As exhilarating as it is to cheat death, we are diminished and badly shaken by what happened t