ASKED HOW his life has changed during his first year as the junior senator from Texas, John Cornyn has a quick answer: “It’s totally unpredictable.” He explains: “I was used to having a schedule and keeping it. . . . But here you’re subject to a calendar set by the leadership. It’s very hard to plan things.”

When I interviewed Cornyn the other day, the Senate appeared ready to adjourn before Thanksgiving. He was planning to be in Texas in December. But then the clock of unpredictability sounded: The leadership announced that the Senate would have to meet again next Tuesday to finish a spending bill that would sustain roughly a third of the government.