And the Fundamental Reason that Republican Government Sucks Is…

"…that too many Republicans now believe their purpose in Washington is keeping power for its own sake."

So proclaimeth the Wall Street Journal, which sighs

Republicans in the 109th have been a major disappointment. The best thing about this Congress is that by doing little at least it did little harm. But despite their best chance in 50 years to reform the creaky institutions of the welfare state, Republicans couldn't maintain the unity or discipline to achieve nearly any of what they promised in 2004.

More here.

And what of the Democrats? In the Wash Post, Sebastian Mallaby decries the Donkey Party's fundamental lack of ideas, principles, and whathaveyou:

The infuriating thing about the Democrats is that, just a decade ago, they knew how to empathize with voters' economic insecurities without collapsing into irresponsibility; they combined attractively progressive social policies with sensible pro-market fiscal responsibility. Now many in the party have lost interest in this necessary balance. If the Democrats win a measure of power next month, it's hard to see what they will do with it.

More here. And in a partisan jibe, Michael Barone lays into the Dems' opposition to pretty much anything the GOP wants when it comes to the War on Terror.

The Instapundit, from whom I filched the above, laments, "It's enough to make you lose faith in the two-party system."