I was in the chair getting my teeth worked on Monday when my dentist brought up the current back and forth in Washington on the debt limit. He wanted to know what most people want to know - why can't the Congress get its act together and cut a deal.
My dentist is a native of Washington, D.C., so he's no stranger to the political people who come through his door every day.
But even he didn't seem ready for my response.
"Doc," I said. "Think about it. You see people every day who don't come in for dental work until they absolutely have to."
Yes, he said, readily acknowledging that people don't like to be poked and prodded with sharp instruments in their mouths, until they absolutely positively have to seek dental treatment.
"So why should the Congress be any different?" I asked.
It doesn't make their current battle over the debt limit any more acceptable, but it is a reminder that the Congress isn't too different from ordinary people.
Monday brought no real change in the debt limit debate in Congress, as lawmakers returned after a weekend away from Washington, D.C.
The White House did announce a veto threat against the "Cut, Cap & Balance" bill from Republicans, which will be voted on Tuesday in the House, belittling it as "an empty political statement."
"Neither setting arbitrary spending levels nor amending the Constitution is necessary to restore fiscal responsibility," the White House statement read, opposing both Cut, Cap & Balance and a Balanced Budget Amendment.
"This unfortunate veto threat should make clear that the issue is not congressional inaction, but rather the President’s unwillingness to cut spending and restrain the future growth of our government," responded Speaker John Boehner.
So, both sides remain in their corners. No one is really reporting any headway on the budget and debt limit, making someone like me wonder about what's next.
Is this just the final series of partisan political attacks from both sides, which will soon give way to deal making on Capitol Hill and at the White House?
Or have we entered a new political realm, where things really do go off the tracks?
It reminds me of the story Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC) told on the floor a couple of times, where a friend of his goes by the National Archives, and sees the motto, "Past is Prologue."
The guy asks his cab driver, what that saying means to him - and the cabbie responds without missing a beat.
"You ain't see nothing yet."
Back to my dentist for a final thought - he told me that I have a cracked tooth way back on the lower right and that it needs a crown. But instead of making a quick appointment to deal with it, I told him I was going to wait awhile.
Just like the Congress, where the motto often seems to be, "Why Do Something Now That You Can Do Later."
Sometimes you get away with a decision like that, but sooner or later the day of Dental Reckoning arrives, just like for lawmakers, sooner or later the day of Budget Reckoning will be upon them.
Maybe we've finally reached that point.
