Nobody on either side is seeing this objectively- it's always "You did this, you did that, you do it more than we do....".
I carry nobody's card- neither party is doing a halfway decent job of representing many people but there are no independents who can make a difference. As I have posted, they might seem to have some ideas at the beginning, but it's always ends up with "Uh, oh- there goes what's his/her name". The Dems rag on the Repubs and the Repubs are too gutless to respond in any meaningful or constructive way.
I hate this crap and getting to one of your points about economics being tied to the party that's in power- they're not supposed to be "in power", they're supposed to be 'in office'. THEY (politicians) need to remember their place.