On the topic of who is playing the game smartly and who is not, the shutdown is a great example. The Dems stupidly tried to do something they don't even believe in (shutting government down). Why? Who knows, probably has to do with they saw the GOP do it a while back. So then when push came to shove, the Dems surrendered.

In game theory we call the Schumer Shutdown "not a credible threat".