Imagine yourself locked in round after round of high-stakes brinksmanship with a political adversary. You thrust and parry with the opponent to gain whatever advantage you can, yet never conclusively so. Despite sharp disagreements and seemingly intractable problems, both sides not only keep at it but stay within certain bounds. As long as there’s a chance the problems could still be resolved, better not to escalate.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=207482