To cleanse the palate, via Roll Call, your “American decline” metaphor of the day courtesy of Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton. It’s all here — gross incompetence, refusal to follow basic rules, and special treatment from authorities because she’s a member of the ruling class. All that’s missing is a lobbyist handing her the keys to a new car and offering to take her current one as she steps out.

One more reason to love Washington: She’s nearly 80, which would put her a decade past retirement age in any other job except governing America.

At around the 40-second mark, an oblivious U.S. Capitol Police officer appears to zoom by on a motorcycle, right past the textbook parking offense…

Our spy estimates the entire head-scratching episode lasted about half an hour, including the painful insertion process and her 20-minute jaunt into [the Cannon House Office building]…

“She hit the car next to her and did not leave a note, though I couldn’t see any damage,” was our spy’s takeaway from the mid-day drama.
Norton’s office disputes that anything untoward transpired…

“After the Congresswoman parked her car, we assessed the cars on either side to see if there was any damage. We could not find any,” a Norton aide assured HOH. “But we left a note with a business card so the congresswoman could be contacted in case we missed any.”

Maybe this is a better metaphor for the Iran negotiations than for D.C. writ large. No matter how ugly it gets; no matter how much damage is inflicted or incurred; no matter how clear it becomes that they have no idea what they’re doing, the White House will make this happen and then declare victory. You know the old saying: Any parking job and/or nuclear deal with Shiite fanatics that you can walk away from is an acceptable one.