From Latts, in comments:
To extend Sirota's analogy, what we've been facing over the the past decade or so is that the Democrat will want to help the elderly lady with her groceries, the Republican will want to punch her in the face, etc. (nothing personal, probably, just contrasting him/herself with the Dem), and the bipartisan position would be to take half her groceries, putting the rest in the truck, and slash her tires. Still a rotten idea, but at least some groceries did indeed end up in her car.
That seems about right. When you take a step back, it's almost remarkable how little weight is given to outcomes in contemporary political discourse. Nebulous concepts like compromise, or centrism, or progress are the surest pathway to good press. The glaring exception is when a president is strong enough to just railroad his agenda through, as Bush was between 2001-2003. The press will respect that sort of power and breathlessly report it. In that case, they'll be interested in the outcome of political success, if not the actual policies themselves.