Throughout American history, suggestions that we adjust "the default option" on our politics to better suit our needs has been discouraged. The Founding Fathers had to employ every bit of their intelligence, guile and sophistry to convince the public that A New Way to govern was not only preferable, but absolutely necessary.
Lincoln’s election was the last straw that finally split a divided nation in half, sparking the Civil War.
During the depths of the Great Depression-- with banks failing, 25% of the workforce unemployed, and veterans attacked by the Army in Washington for requesting early distribution of their World War I bonus pay—it took Franklin Roosevelt four ballots at the convention to secure the Democratic nomination, and his election was by no means a slam-dunk.