Academic

CAN I CALL ?EM, OR WHAT? Back in September, noting a continuing pattern of White House incompetence?

By Glenn Reynolds

CAN I CALL ‘EM, OR WHAT? Back in September, noting a continuing pattern of White House incompetence, I predicted: “Expect this to play out in thumbsucker columns on whether America is ‘ungovernable.’”

And, right on cue, here’s Matthew Yglesias: “The smarter elements in Washington DC are starting to pick up on the fact that it?s not tactical errors on the part of the president that make it hard to get things done, it?s the fact that the country has become ungovernable.”

Funny, that dumb cowboy Bush seemed to get a lot done with fewer votes in Congress. . . .

Plus, from the comments: “There have been no major institutional changes in the United States government in recent history that have caused it to ‘become ungovernable.’ There just isn?t enough political support to enact various news laws and policies that you favor. Tough. If you hadn?t become seduced by the delusion that Obama is a ‘progressive’ and that last year?s election represented some kind of historic realignment in favor of ‘progressive’ policies you might have seen this coming.”

Or, as Ed Morrissey noted a while ago: “Who could have warned us that a man who served seven years in the state legislature and three years in the Senate would not have been prepared for the toughest executive position in the Free World? We did. Repeatedly. So did John McCain, and for that matter, so did Hillary Clinton.”

UPDATE: Moe Lane says Matt and I are both right. “The country is indeed ungovernable. ?By Democrats.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: A reader emails: “What I appreciate especially is how Matthew notes that the smarter elements are starting to pick up on some observation of his…”

MORE: Ed Morrissey offers some fresh thoughts.

Plus, reader Zachary Terry writes: “That silly, silly Constitution. It always seems to get in the way. In all seriousness, though, wasn’t the United States intended to be relatively ‘ungoverned?’ Why is it not surprising that blatant deviation from the intended structure and function of our national government has led to this quandary?”

Can we get a T-Shirt that says Proudly Ungovernable Since 1776?

Full post as published by Instapundit.com on December 12, 2009 (boomark / email).