By Andy Brack, editor and publisher  |  Politics has always been an occasionally nasty business.  Alexander Hamilton died in an 1804 duel with Aaron Burr.  A South Carolina congressman caned and nearly killed a Massachusetts senator in 1856 over slavery.  A mob of zealots upset by presidential election results stormed the U.S. Capitol earlier this year in an attack that led to five deaths.

Fortunately in America, these bloody internal conflicts aren’t the norm.  Unfortunately, today’s polarized and charged political environment is making it harder for leaders to govern — particularly when the leaders seem to be more worried about the next election than governing.