Contemporary journalism is much more episodic than systematic, focusing on one-off events and the colorful personalities involved rather than the long-term trends that brought about the current situation. Beltway reporting on the current debt ceiling battle has been no exception, relentlessly emphasizing the personal dramas rather than the big picture. Combine this “episodic” bias with a healthy dollop of liberalism, and it is darned near impossible to get a sense from the media of what the heck is really going on.

So, let’s sketch that out today: a broad-based look at why this current fight is so messy and what the prospects are for the future politics of deficit reduction.