Nation flounders with Congress that keeps dithering

Every week brings another adventure in brinkmanship in Washington as lawmakers barely avert government shutdowns, pass temporary spending measures, and utterly fail to substantively address America's gravest problems. All of which raises some serious questions:

Has there ever been a time when Congress was held in such low esteem, and such gridlock and dysfunction existed in Washington?

Pignanelli: "You can lead a man to Congress, but you can't make him think." — Milton Berle. Almost 90 percent of Americans are disgusted with Congress — the lowest measure of respect for this institution in modern history. Our federal representatives are now competing with diseases to determine who are the most unpopular organisms in the country.

But we have to look at this in perspective. There have been other times in our history when frustration levels with Congress were high. Notable examples include the early years of the Great Depression and that little incident of which we are celebrating the 150th anniversary: the Civil War.

Throughout the decade leading to this ultimate expression of public disappointment, Congress was beyond dysfunctional. Members shouted their personal hatred of each other on the floor. Congressman Preston Brooks almost killed Sen. Charles Sumner with his cane — enraged at Sumner's speech against slavery. The Southern press cheered the near fatal attack while the Northern media portrayed the incident as another illustration of a violent and barbaric South. (The similarities to Fox v. MSNBC are amazing.)

Thus, our country is suffering through another cycle of federal angst. As before, we will survive and again prosper.

Webb: The job approval of the president merely stinks, while citizens view Congress as a polluted mass of rotting garbage. At a time when the country needs to have confidence in its political and government institutions, we see nothing but dysfunction, rigid ideology, partisan bickering, lack of big ideas and a refusal to deal with realistic solutions.

How much of the current economic malaise can be attributed to dysfunction in Washington?