No, it could be sophistication. Issues are complex. Society is complex. People are complex. There's a lot of information. It can be hard to know what's best or true. Everyone has their opinion, and we all know what those are worth. So what's the point of adding to the polarization?

Even when a politician fence-sits on an issue so as not to put anyone off, it's still not necessarily cowardice. It could be smart (in a cookie-cutter, feckless kinda way).