Many reporters caught up in the bizarre world of official Washington have written extensively on political tactics and implications of the so-called government shutdown and disastrous launch of HealthCare.gov. Typical was a New York Times headline that blared "Republicans, Sensing Weakness in Health Law Rollout, Switch Tactics." But there's been precious little analysis about the underlying realities that led us to this point. Perhaps that's because neither political party wants to face up to those realities. So, instead of substance, D.C. journalists cover politics like junior high school students trying to keep up with who's in, who's out, and who...