Americans who blame Washington politicians for the polarization
and gridlock of the nation's politics might want to look in the
mirror: Like the elected officials they decry, voters tend to
automatically retreat into partisan camps even when they
disagree with the party line on policy.  A USA TODAY/Bipartisan
Policy Center Poll shows that the officials who have been unable
to avert the automatic spending cuts known as sequestration –
the current debate centers more on who's to blame for them – in
some ways reflect constituents who view the opposition party as
deeply untrustworthy and its positions extreme. Though most
Republican and Democratic voters say American politics are more
polarized than the American people are, the findings indicate
that on that they're wrong.  "There's no question the American
public sees the country as divided and as increasingly divided,
and as usual, they don't think it's their fault," says
Democratic pollster Mark Mellman, who conducted the survey in
conjunction with Republican