On the ongoing failure of Republicans and Democrats to reach a deal to reopen the government, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd says gridlock may have been resolved if President Obamatook notes on the ABC political drama "Scandal":

ABC's "Scandal"

Kerry Washington’s Olivia Pope, unmasked by The Washington Post at the end of last season as the president’s girlfriend, opens her safe and takes out a folder with a code.

“The most infamous woman in America,” as she’s known, uses the “fire-alarm” password that her commander-in-chief lover had given her in case of a terrorist, chemical or nuclear attack. With that code, she’s able to lure President Fitzgerald Grant and the first lady, Mellie, into the White House bunker. Once the unholy trinity is gathered, Olivia, wearing a killer white Burberry trench coat that signals her pursuit of “white hat” justice, demands that they hammer out a deal to save their reputations. ...

Why hadn’t President Obama used a pretext to lure John Boehner, Ted Cruz and Harry Reid to the White House, locked them in a bunker and kept them there until they hammered out a deal to save America’s reputation?

At the White House Correspondents' Dinner back in April, Obama dinged Dowd for a column in which she said the administration should model itself after the fictional one in "The American President" (1995).

@eScarry