This year's intense partisanship is partly caused by the Republicans' slim hold on power in the House, where a Democratic gain of just six seats next year could put them in the majority.

The intense partisanship is a measure of how high the stakes, and the risks, are for both sides.

The battle has been replete with intense partisanship, Administration missteps and gross misstatements by combatants.

When Adams became President, the war between the French and British was causing great difficulties for the United States on the high seas and intense partisanship among contending factions within the Nation.

The inquiry lasted more than two years and was often surrounded by intense partisanship inside and outside the ethics committee.

A variety of experts in both parties said they worried about the aftermath of intense partisanship.

Jack, in his intense partisanship, spoke as if sheep were not entitled to decent grass at any time or under any circumstances.

In focusing on Medicare, Mr. Bush was wading back into a topic that has always generated intense partisanship.

But pollsters, many of whom see themselves as above-the-fray numbers crunchers, say the attacks are a product of intense national partisanship in the age of the Weblog and 24-hour cable news channels.

"The story is that there is an intense and bitter partisanship in Washington which has its own logic," said Mr. Schudson, a professor of communication at the University of California at San Diego.