Triangulation is *not* the middle ground between extreme left and extreme right; instead, it is telling the Left what they want to hear, but then passing legislation that agrees with the Right. By betraying the Left in this manner, Clinton was able take away election ammunition from the Right, tap into donors from the Right, make casual Liberals voters believe that he was a liberal president (those who weren't paying close attention to what Clinton was actually *doing*), and solidify his presidential power at the cost and detriment of his party.

Christopher Hitchens explains this well in "No One Left To Lie To."