I’m not saying McCarthy could have realistically negotiated a better deal in this debt-ceiling fight, with such a narrow majority in the House and a Democratic-controlled Senate. But McCarthy has only himself to blame for raising the prospect of putting the nation on a path to a balanced budget, which helped fuel the unrealistic expectations in the first place. Republican leaders have a history of doing this. Just look at how Republicans campaigned on repealing Obamacare through four election cycles, only to chastise conservatives for ideological purity during the 2017 negotiations when those conservatives had the temerity to insist on full repeal rather than a haphazardly watered-down version of Obamacare.

Ultimately, the only way to get the U.S. on a responsible fiscal trajectory is to overhaul entitlements, including Medicare and Social Security. And on that front, Republicans have shown no resolve to do anything about it.