What makes America look unreliable

"What makes America look unreliable isn’t budget math, it’s politics. And please, let’s not have the usual declarations that both sides are at fault. Our problems are almost entirely one-sided -- specifically, they’re caused by the rise of an extremist right that is prepared to create repeated crises rather than give an inch on its demands." 

-- Paul Krugman in yesterday's Times

[LINK: Stolen entirely from Deus Ex Malcontent ]