Opinion | 3 Writers Try to Make Sense of the Government Shutdown

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By Frank BruniKristen Soltis Anderson and Nate Silver

Mr. Bruni and Ms. Anderson are contributing Opinion writers. Mr. Silver is the author of “On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything.”

Frank Bruni, a contributing Opinion writer, hosted a written online conversation on Thursday with Kristen Soltis Anderson, a contributing Opinion writer and Republican pollster, and Nate Silver, the author of “On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything” and the newsletter Silver Bulletin, to discuss the government shutdown — who’s up, who’s down and how it might end.

Frank Bruni: Kristen, Nate, happy second week of the federal shutdown. Beyond and above the particular agendas and tussles that attend this (or any other) shutdown is a larger concern: Each party hopes to come out of the standoff looking like the less rash, more responsible one. Each wants the other to get a larger portion of the blame. For now — and I fully realize that all of this is in flux — what does polling tell us about whether the shutdown is hurting Republicans or Democrats more? Which party is winning?