America Votes for Dysfunction

When the latest issue of The New York Review of Books hit the stands, it included a short “think piece” by Joseph Lelyveld entitled “The Likely Winner.” This was not written to predict whether Barack Obama would be able to return for four more years in the White House or be displaced by Mitt Romney. Rather, Lelyveld took a broader view that included the Congress, as well as the White House, and concluded that, whatever would be decided in the polling places, the “likely winner” would be four more years of dysfunctional government. Listening to today’s “morning after” commentary, it would appear that Lelyveld has made the most sensible call of the whole electoral season; and, given the budget decisions that have to be made before the new Congress convenes, there is no reason to believe that the dysfunction will ramp up to full throttle before the end of the present day.