I have been saying for almost a decade that it is “the Ralph and Sam” show. Sam Sheepdog (the democrats or GOP depending on what party you belong to) fights with Ralph Wolf for our benefit. At the end of the day they go have cocktails and laugh at their “fights.” And we fall for it...thinking they are really fighting for us.
I think we have to include Trump as an actor in this drama as well. He convincingly played the part of "the stern leader who demanded action!", while Paul Ryan turned in a great performance as "the lieutenant who just couldn't get it done, even though he really, really tried". Ryan did a great job playing the heavy, one of those "villains you love to hate".