The new normal

Any ordinary working stiff who didn’t already feel an appropriate contempt for the politicians probably was won over to “ludicrous” and/or “ridiculous” when the Senate announced an early-morning session—starting at 11 a.m., about when working men and women, with whose incomes, retirement, and health care the politicians have been playing with, have been at work for several hours.

None of the deals proposed to save us from falling off the mythical cliff would make even a tiny dent in our on-going trillion dollar deficits, which is what this exercise was supposed to be all about. The final battle has now been postponed until February or March, when we hit the debt ceiling…

Of course, in the end we are our own enemy: We elect and reelect the vast majority of those who are presiding over this policy mess. It is as if the Jets decide to keep the current coaching staff and player roster after their woeful performance this season; as if Wizards fans find ways to express overwhelming satisfaction with the current cast of characters that represent them at the Verizon Center; as if we come to agree with many Europeans who regard Jimmy Carter as the most distinguished former president, and demand his return to political life.