Drunk on Power

Taking a few days off from deliberations over that mythical "fiscal cliff" is not going to improve matters. To paraphrase Bill Clinton:

It's the power, stupid!

Politics has always been about the legitimation of power, as Max Weber observed; but even Weber would probably have to admit that the current practices of our Federal lawmakers are putting that legitimacy into question. Time that could be spent in serious deliberation is instead squandered on ideological diatribe, replacing conference rooms with television studios. Those who urge us all to keep our eyes on the prize of economic recovery, such as Jeff Madrick, can only review their ideas on sites like NYRBlog, which carry no weight among those for whom amassing and exercising power is the only game. Is this when the aliens invade and tell us that, after a few thousand years of observation, it is time for someone else to take over as "designated grownups?"