I can agree with that, wonderwoman, to an extent. I have no problem with people of different political views when we share the same essential values. I have conservative friends who are very interested in helping the poor, for example; and while we might differ on the details of whether we support/don't support specific government programs to serve that population, we all agree that there are those who need help. Some of them volunteer extensively and do great work. That leaves us plenty to talk about, even when we aren't supporting the same candidates. And of course, people's views can change. I have a good friend who voted for Bush in 2004 when I voted for Kerry, but by 2006 she was just as negative about Bush as I, if not more so.

neardc, I think your point about cable news and its influence is well taken. Public officials are often called upon to give opinions and to respond to other people's statements with little or no time to discuss and/or reflect before having to fill time and make news on the latest interview show. I think it leads to overstatements and rash statements by members of both parties that then have to be walked back (the charges of racism against Judge Sotomayor being just one recent example, but almost every week brings more). This can't lead to much thoughtful deliberation, and it puts many on Capitol Hill in a near-constant mode of being reactive rather than proactive.

I also wonder if the incessant cycle of political fundraising is having a corrosive effect on civil dialogue in Washington? There was a time when members of the House and Senate and their staffs could relax together at the end of a long day. They'd see each other at various DC restaurants, clubs, and other watering holes (not to mention golf courses, country clubs, etc.), where they had a chance to converse and get to know each other socially. Sometimes, in an earlier generation, fierce political opponents were close personal friends (Bob Dole and George McGovern, for one example). Nowadays, a member of congress is much more likely to spend evenings in DC in the company of lobbyists or at PAC events and other partisan fundraisers. Often that means they spend their time hearing the extreme wings of their respective parties demonizing the other side, as opposed to sitting down to a drink with a member of "the other side". It's got to affect them after a while; how could it not?