what it is

[jasveron]

"Despite the frequent drama at the political level, America and Americans have found a comfortable center line in what it is they want their government to do and what it is they accept their government doing."

I do not understand the usage of 'it is' after 'what in' the sentence above.
Were they used for emphasis only? Can I omit them altogether?

[Rover_KE]

You can omit 'it is' in both cases.

I'd also prefer '...a center line between. . .'

Rover

[SoothingDave]

Between what? They are not balancing what they "want" the gov't to do with what they "accept" it doing.

The balance is between those who want an overarching cradle-to-grave welfare state and those who want a more laissez faire limited gov't.

The general American consensus is that we value individual effort and individual reward, but at the same time we do not want our sick and elderly left to fend for themselves.

It's a center line between two extreme theories of gov't.

[5jj]

Between what? They are not balancing what they "want" the gov't to do with what they "accept" it doing.

Well, the sentence seems to say that that's what they have found the centre line between. They may want the government to do nothing about health care but accept its providing limited healthcare. Or, they may want it to provide a cradle-to-grave welfare system but accept a limited system. Only more context can tell us exactly what the cenre line is between.