All the shenanigans, dysfunction and antipathy in U.S. politics today have been generations in the making, a top national journalist said Tuesday. Cokie Roberts, senior news analyst for NPR and a political commentator at ABC News, said the divisive rhetoric, shrill antics and extreme partisanship among public officials â Republican and Democrat â reflect widening distortions in American civic life. Permanent campaigning, an erosion of social ties among members of Congress and polarization driven... <img src="http://mngislctrib.112.2O7.net/b/ss/mngislctrib/1/H.17--NS/0?&pageName=RSS" height="1" width="1" border="0" alt=""/> <iframe src="http://www.sltrib.com/csp/mediapool/sites/sltrib/pages/garss.csp" height="1" width="1" > </frame>