Visions of dysfunction

In a longer than usual read of the Times front section this morning, three tales abruptly coalesced in my mind as markers of U.S. political dysfunction.

First up, we have Republicans blocking the U.S. from fulfilling a core international commitment - a major adjustment to a changing world -- and the administration failing to go to the mat for the country's credibility:

The Senate on Thursday gave final approval to a $1.1 trillion spending bill for the current fiscal year, leaving behind what might have been the Obama administration’s best chance to overhaul the International Monetary Fund and meet its obligations to the world’s other economic powers.