Washington Was Already Tired of Arguing about the Budget

The first week was even funny, admitted government contractors and federal officials, who went on compulsory holiday Oct. 1. For a few days, they took advantage of the freedom, wandering in jeans and sweatshirts, hanging around in favorite pubs, long after lunch break. Instead of rushing back to the office, they ordered after-dinner whiskeys, proposing toasts to the government — which was not giving them any money — or getting involved in an endless American debate: Who has been the best U.S. president? Who has been a real leader: Definitely not Obama because he cannot guide the nation when it is in desperate need, and Oct. 13 is the best example.

Yes, the first week was funny, but it was supposed to be just one week. On Thursday, Oct. 10, it seemed that the House of Representatives and Senate would reach an agreement. The news spread quietly, yet joyfully, throughout Wall Street, which should receive a special salute for keeping calm for so long. However, today — and I am writing this on Wednesday evening — it is the 16th day ”without government,” and as the Democratic majority in the Senate has promised, the last.

Washington is tired. Even the ones who secretly supported Republicans in the beginning had enough eventually.

”People think they are winners, but in reality they gain nothing.”

My conservative interlocutor is getting irritated, jingling his Mercedes keys.

”Obama thinks he is a winner, but he is not doing anything, and once again, he is discrediting the nation in the eyes of the world. Conservatives think they are winners, but they won’t gain anything because after all … “

He lowers his voice, “Not that I like it, but ‘Obamacare’ has been approved and become LAW.”

And everyone knows what “law” means for a hardened Republican.

The ticking of the fiscal-cliff clock in the background forced Republicans to withdraw from their radical demand: a budget and current government, in exchange for “Obamacare.” At the same time, in the Senate, the leader of the Republican minority, Mitch McConnell, and the leader of the Democratic majority, Harry Reid, proposed a new deal, which does not include any major concessions in favor of the Grand Old Party. The president won, and he did not even have to reach for the phone, writes John Dickerson for Slate. Republicans kept themselves waiting, and their ratings had never been lower than on the 16th day, following the closing of the government. As a result, the debt ceiling will be pushed through to Feb. 7, 2014. Only 18 conservative senators objected to the project proposed in the Senate. At 10 p.m., Washington time, the votes have not been counted yet, but the Asian stock market has already been given a stir, and even John Boehner, the leader of the majority in the House of Representatives, did not have any doubts about the course of the voting.

At 10:20 p.m., the results of the voting are clear: 285 to 144, in favor. Obama is waiting at his desk, drumming his fingers against the top. He is waiting for the papers to land on his desk, and he is going to sign them by midnight. It means that on Thursday, Oct. 17, Washington starts living again: It is high time!

Of course, the end of Washington’s crisis does not change much. The issue has been tackled temporarily, and we will face the same problems in just a few months. For now, everybody is living an illusion. Democrats are singing Republicans a dirge, and as has happened hundreds of times before, they are probably singing it too early. On the other hand, Republicans admit that they have been defeated but consider it to be only a lost skirmish. Soon, there will appear a new, luminous guru, who will lead them into battle: for a new presidency and to overthrow “Obamacare.” It will be a happy day.