They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them...
will stay out of the public eye on Sunday as Senate leaders try to work out an elusive deal ahead of a Thursday deadline for lifting the US government debt ceiling.
Just before noon, the White House gave the pool of news hounds and photographers who travel with the president notice that it would be highly unlikely that Obama would leave the White House or speak publicly for the rest of the day.
Senator
Harry Reid... the charismatic senator-for-life from Nevada, currently majority leader ...
, the Senate majority leader, was slated to hold talks on Sunday with his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell, about how much to raise the debt ceiling, and how to end the ongoing government shutdown, now in its 13th day.
Obama made a series of high-profile public appearances during the early days of the shutdown, where he sought to blame Republicans for the fiscal impasse.
But Obama has stayed away from television cameras since he began meeting with politicians on Wednesday afternoon.
Vice President
Joe Foreign Policy Whiz KidBiden
The former Senator-for-Life from Delaware, an example of the kind of top-notch Washington intellect to be found in the World's Greatest Deliberative Body...
, who has close relationships with politicians who he served with during his long service in the US Senate, also has stayed out of the public eye.
Biden's schedule for the weekend showed that he and his wife Jill Biden would spend time at Camp David, the presidential retreat in rural Maryland.
"Maybe we need to get Joe Biden out of the witness protection program," Republican Senator
John MaverickMcCain
... the Senator-for-Life from Arizona, former presidential candidate and even more former
foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution...
said on CBS Television's "Face the Nation" program on Sunday morning, alluding to Biden's legendary ability to clinch deals with Republicans.