Indebted America is in danger of turning into destitute Greece, or so congressional Republicans and conservative commentators have been warning us for years now. For many reasons, this is an absurd comparison—but it may

A prolonged confrontation over the nation's debt ceiling—unlike the "fiscal cliff," which provoked many scary headlines—could truly be grave for both America and the world. While press coverage often mentions the

Even modern political conventions, which are often little more than highly scripted party...