As the federal government shutdown enters its fourth week, it is already the second-longest on record. A weary American public should start thinking not just about how to stop this shutdown but how to prevent these embarrassing episodes in the future. 

Shutdowns have not always been part of the political landscape. Although our country has had 22 of them, they are a relatively recent phenomenon. The first shutdown took place only about half a century ago, under President Gerald Ford. Ford vetoed a spending bill that had been passed by the so-called “Watergate Baby” Congress, elected after President Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974. An emboldened Democratic Congress flexed its muscles against a weakened presidency, overrode Ford’s veto, and ended the impasse.