In his US presidential victory speech on November 4, 2008, Barack Obama said, "Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long".
It's a familiar message in US politics. When George W Bush was running for president in 2000, he told Americans, "I'm a uniter, not a divider". But politicians who vow to change Washington are often changed by Washington. Partisanship is entrenched in the system.
However, senate historian Don Ritchie says while the political party divisions have evolved over many decades, members of Congress have always come to Washington with very different visions of what they want to do.
"Those who love legislation and those who love sausage should never see how either are made. It's not a nice, pretty, efficient, clean, reasonable process.
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