The essence of contemporary American politics in just a few lines

Here an now politics seems to be about grabbing control and shoving through as much of your agenda as you can before you have to relinquish control. The hope is that you can push more in the direction you want to go in your time in control than the opposition can when it is their time to run the show. It's not about compromise. It's a contentious,nasty, and exhausting way to do things, and it's a shame.