By Amara Grautski

With the candidates set for the 2008 presidential election, controversial discussions among Republicans and Democrats are at their peak. And although it might seem difficult to debate with a person at the opposite end of the political spectrum, it might be even harder to date one.

Political advisors James Carville and Mary Matalin seemed to have nothing in common when both were aiding opposing nominees during the 1992 presidential election.

Carville, a Democrat from Louisiana, was the lead strategist for former President Bill Clinton, and Matalin, a Republican from Illinois, worked on the campaign for former President George Bush Sr. But by the end of the election, the two had one thing in common – they wanted to marry each other.

In 1993, the couple married and, a year later, they published the book “All’s Fair: Love, War and Running for President.” In a 1997 interview with Salon.com, Matalin said the pair avoids conflict by not talking about politics at home. But Dr. Julie Albright, a licensed marriage therapist and sociology professor at the University of Southern California, said this kind of relationship is a rarity.

“Mary Matalin and James Carville are a great example of a couple