His daily routine was exchanging polemics with stubborn enemies and responding to lobbyists.
And since this is described as at odds with the president's tendencies, his tendencies are closest to the opposite of the above behaviour - non-contentious.
But we don't have a word closest to non-contentious in the choice list.
So, it is better to eliminate the wrong choices.
I can eliminate
dialectical, contentious and tenacious.
I am left with
idealistic, quixotic and altruistic.Altruistic is not non-contentious. So eliminate it.
We are left with
idealistic and
quixotic, which are the best of the worst.
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