I dont think most politicians are all transactional, but I do think that willing to think about certain issues in a transactional way or willing to use transactions in certain deals helps you achieve your agenda. But you need to be willing to call that favor chit back in later, and able to think about the issues in a longer term way.

I worry about politicians who think about things in an excessively ideological eye, because the ideologues are immune compromising.