There is no break from politics.

Even though the election will finally - thankfully - hopefully end next week - the next big fight in Washington has already been pencilled into the schedule.

It'll be over the Trans-Pacific Partnership - or TPP - the massive trade deal between the US and 11 other Pacific Rim nations that both major candidates for president oppose.

Once the election is over - the Obama administration - with the help of Republicans and some corporate Democrats - plans on throwing whatever political capital it has left into a campaign to get the TPP through the lame-duck session of Congress.

Whether this full-court press push for a massively unpopular trade will work is still unclear - but one thing is certain: whatever public debate surrounds the lame-duck campaign for the TPP will probably involve words like "free trade" and "protectionism".

These two words have framed the debate around trade in the US for decades - and they're how most of the general public understands the issue.

The way most people see it - trade policy is either good because it's "free" or bad because it's "protectionist".

This dichotomy has deep roots in our political discourse - the only problem is it's wildly inaccurate - especially when it comes to the TPP.