There are two major parties in the United States: the party that wishes to govern and the party that wants only to campaign.

It’s to their credit that Republicans are obsessed with getting the government to address its unconscionable and unmanageable debt, freeing up the productive private sector to create economic growth and maintaining the nation’s military preeminence. But there’s something almost pathetic about the way leading Republicans complain that the president doesn’t negotiate in good faith. Of course he doesn’t. He’s not interested in governing — at least not with Republicans. He’s determined to campaign from now until November 2014 so that he can replace them.