Mad World

Nation Calls Capital Mad, and It Agrees

If the rest of the country thinks Washington has gone mad this summer, that is pretty much the view in this bewildered capital, too, even in Mr. Boehner’s overwhelmed call center.

Among the bar patrons at the Old Ebbitt Grill worried about stock portfolios, the tourists anxious about disability checks and the current and former policy makers stunned by Washington paralysis, the mood was described variously as one of doom, disgust and disbelief...

At the Washington National Zoo on Saturday, Dean Thompson, 53, a Republican and a mechanical engineer visiting from Augusta, Ga., was filled with disdain for lawmakers of both parties on Capitol Hill. “They’re playing with people’s savings is what they’re doing,” he said. “It’s like a game to them.”

I realize that "Washington"for the rest of the country means the political-industrial-media machine complex, so as a decade-long resident of DC I've of course learned not to take too much offense at the constant assaults on "Washington."

If you think the impasse on the debt issue is completely bonkers, however, quit sending batshit insane Republican representatives here, Dean Thompson, Republican from Augusta, GA, et al.