Will D.C. close its doors?
Reporters who went to President Obama's news conference last week with the intention of writing down whatever news he had come to announce didn't have to worry about running out of space in their notebooks.
There was so little news, they'll have plenty of room to write in those same notebooks at his next gathering.
No news, but there was a moment of truth. The President said there would be a certain amount of posturing before the two sides got serious about finding common ground on government spending.
Well, House Republicans logged a full week on the posture clock, and by the pre-dawn hours of Saturday morning rammed through $61 billion worth of spending cuts that no one, including them, believes the Senate will ever approve.
Now they're off for another vacation, this one to celebrate President's Day.
Which reminds me, who but Congress gets a full week off for President's Day?
But back to the point. The White House will punch its own posture-clock now, using the week Congress is off to warn of dire consequences ahead if compromise can't be found and the government has to shut down March 4th.
Here's the real scary part: Once the vacation break ends, there'll be only four days or so to work out a compromise to keep the government running.
Can they do it? Let's hope so, but it is a long way to go with a short time to get there.
Which allows me to do my own posturing. What if we paid Congress only for the days Members actually spent on the job here in Washington?
We might save a bundle on that one!
