A federal government shutdown will be an expensive, demoralizing inconvenience felt all across the nation, not just in Washington. So why aren't legislators working overtime to arrive at a compromise?

The answer to that question is: the politics of the next election.

While several legislative leaders have tried mightily to hammer out a compromise in recent days -- notably Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois -- most legislators, with an eye on the political calendar, seem more interested in spinning the looming shutdown than preventing it.

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