Of Course the Super Committee Failed.

So, the Super Committee failed to come to agreement on future budget cuts. That's not exactly a big surprise. The whole thing reeked of little more than a gimmick from the word go.

But it was a bi-partisan group designed to show that the whole of Washington is working together to solve the nation's budget woes, supporters will say. They ignore that it was never, nor could it have been, a true pi-partisan committee at all. It was made up of high level Democrats and Republicans, who acted as Democrats and Republicans tend to do. They disagreed. The result should not be shocking.

Now everyone's blaming everyone else for the failure, based on partisan grounds. This too should not cause gasps. It's what political opponents do.

The plain truth is that no one had any reason to expect that the Committee would work. It was simple grandstanding. The actual need to cut the budget in the future is just that: something to be done in the future. For now, the political powers in DC got what they all wanted: the appearance of working towards a solution, with the ability to blame the other guy when things didn't work out in the short run.

And that is precisely why the Super Committee was doomed from the start. We know from experience that Congress, outside of clear majorities in both Houses (and even then not necessarily), will generally not get things done until the last minute. Never mind that extended unemployment benefits beyond the end of this year, for a single issue example, are at risk with the Committee's failure to act. The end of this year is still six weeks away. That question and a good many others will almost certainly be addressed before everyone goes home for Christmas. They simply have to become short term objectives first.

Until then, watch CNN and Fox News, all you political wonks, for whatever it's worth. But kindly spare us beating your breasts over what is in truth of no note. We aren't at endgame. Nothing is going to happen yet, because it just doesn't have to. Period.