Politics is not a friendly game of cards, much is at stake. It is a battle of ideas and direction that sometimes have devastating consequences. It is not meant for the faint of heart.
As a socialist, I believe in participatory politics and the only "my guy" I have is the best interests for the whole of the country. That's where partisans fail, both democrat and republican.
There are serious and deep differences between the left and the right in this country and there may never be a time when we can all hold hands and solve problems. It has never been that way in this country. All great political achievement has been gained through struggle, sometimes even death.
Frankly, from my perspective, with the precarious position America is in today, now is not the time to be looking to hold and compromise with disaster. We should be analyzing what works and what doesn't for all Americans. Analyzing not just politicians, but even what doesn't work within our form of government and society. We should ridicule and reject proven failed notions such as the "free market", which doesn't exist anywhere in nature, but the quest for it has lead us near economic collapse.
That is also true of the policies of Obama. I'll support what works, but I'll ridicule and reject what does not, such as his proposed healthcare tweaking at a time when we need serious healthcare reform.
As you say, the media will never go away, but its face is radically different today, and the REAL media of the left has emerged.
These are serious times. Sometimes we can't afford to be nice.