Sure, local and state government officials can argue, even squabble. They can have conflicts among them, sometimes in the Legislature or members of a city council or county commission, sometimes between local leaders and members of the Legislature. Yes, sometimes it can be ugly; other times it can be just silly. Government at all levels often spends time on purely cosmetic or politically-motivated issues.

That’s just the way things happen.

However, even with whatever examples one might find, at least North Dakota leaders collectively don’t play politics at the expense of governance and policy, spin everything into an attack on their rivals and otherwise conduct themselves the way federal leadership does – with the United States Congress as a prime example (although there are plenty of other institutions in Washington to which one could point).

While the absurdity of bad conduct in Congress has been on display for many years, it was on display for the world to see in Thursday’s coverage of and reaction to the release of the Mueller report.

Well before the actual release, it was already being criticized by many Democrats and some Republicans, largely because it wasn’t going to result in charges being filed against President Donald Trump. The ire was directed at Attorney General William Barr, which continued Thursday as President Trump’s critics – and outright enemies – issued critical statements about a 400-plus page document they had not even read.

Imagine if all the time wasted playing politics had been directed at legislative action. Despite the polarized political environment in D.C. today, there are things upon which the Administration and Democrat rivals might agree.

This isn’t the way our local and state leaders typically conduct themselves, and that reflects well on them and benefits the people of North Dakota.

Here, we do find bipartisan support for legislation. We do see legislation sponsored by members of both parties and it is common enough that it doesn’t seem like a big deal to the average voter. Yes, there are rivalries but nothing compared to the shenanigans in Washington D.C.

Whatever criticism one might have about our elected leaders, at least they aren’t the Congress.