On the front of Politico is an article about how the big bipartisan deals that used to be relatively common in Congress now appear to be a thing of the past. Good bye and good riddance. At their core these bipartisan deals were and are about destroying basic democratic accountability.

Rick Perry is going to end his campaign for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination. The AP and Politico both report that Perry will endorse Newt Gingrich after dropping out of the race.

It does not seem to occur to Ms. Rice that one of the most important functions of a National Security Adviser is to think through the consequences of proposed national actions. Aside from asking whether what your boss and his militarist advisers are planning is justified, the job requires you warn against measures that would destroy peoples, rulers, governments, . . . You’d at least get your principals to recognize that the Pottery Barn rules applies: you break it, you can’t fix it, you own it.

How can we possibly thank Politico’s Marin Cogan enough for compiling a list of the “most likely to . . . ” House members, with an overwhelming focus on the up and coming GOP frosh? Mind you, this is the crew that managed to push Congress’ approval numbers to record lows, tried to force a default on the US debt, and used blackmail threats of shutting down the government three times this year to extract measures that weakened the government’s ability to function in a time of national economic crisis. Who needs terrorist enemies with patriots like these?

In case you weren’t paying attention during the debate about the extension of the Bush tax cuts last year, members of Congress are again working on a deal to clearly show there is no such thing as a deficit hawk.

Even Politico can’t spin the GOP’s intransigence in their ‘insiders’ writeup of what happened on the Stupid-Committee. Seeking faux balance, the reporters claim new bipartisan friendships, but as usually, the examples describe a one-way street.

The failure of the Super Committee will not guarantee the protection of our social safety net. This is, by my count, at least President Obama’s fourth attempt to get a “grand bargain” to cut entitlements, so there is no reason to believe he will stop trying now. But the failure of the Super Committee would push any new attempts to get a bipartisan “grand bargain” into next year; and as the 2012 election gets closer, the possibility that both parties will agree on anything becomes even more remote.

The Democrats on the Super Committee, in their efforts to reach an deal with Republicans, have offered a new deficit reduction package and just like their last offer this one also contains cuts to Medicare benefits.

Recent stories note that Democratic members of the Super Committee have offered to reduce Social Security, Medicare and other benefits as part of a larger debt reduction plan. This is not surprising, since the Super Committee was created under procedural rules purposely designed to allow such benefit cuts.

As the media delve into the GOP front runner’s background, we’ve seen an expose on Herman Cain’s previous career as a paid conservative spokesman backed by the Koch family, and there has been intense scrutiny of his 9-9-9 “flat” tax plan and his policy ignorance and inexperience. This weekend his campaign hit another major stumbling block having to do with his personal conduct and suggestions of sex harassment.