Errol Louis is the host of "Inside City Hall," a nightly political show on NY1, a New York all-news channel. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own.

(CNN) The federal government shutdown is an expensive, demoralizing inconvenience felt all across the nation, not just in Washington. So why didn't legislators work overtime to arrive at a compromise?

The answer to that question is: the politics of the next election.

While several legislative leaders have tried mightily to hammer out a compromise in recent days -- notably Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois -- most legislators, with an eye on the political calendar, seem more interested in spinning the looming shutdown than preventing it.

The predominant logic on both sides of the aisle seems to be: "if we can't avoid a crisis, let's make sure we can lay it at the doorstep of the rival party."

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