Unexpectedly

Congress spent the past week having a serious, thoughtful, substantive and bipartisan debate about Syria. On the down side this does highlight an uncomfortable truth. The partisan dysfunction we normally expect from Washington isn't due to the failings of our elected representatives, however much we might enjoy blaming them. When circumstances require it, Congress is clearly capable of operating in the way we say we'd prefer. The fact that serious, thoughtful, substantive and bipartisan debate is largely absent from every other issue simply reflects the deep political divisions in the country as a whole. Red and blue voters demand that their representatives hold to strict party lines. So they do.