Paul Krugman has said it. In his latest column, he argues that the U.S. has become "ominously" dysfunctional.

My sentiments, exactly.

He argues that we are becoming a nation "ungovernable". He documents how the filibuster, once rarely used as tool of extreme dissatisfaction, is common practice by Republicans determined to hold up, obstruct and stymie Obama's proposals.

It's not just the Republicans, the Blue Dog Democrats have certainly seized on the right's coattails for their own narrow purposes.

As Rush has blurted out, Republicans want Obama to fail. Democrats, as much as they distrusted Bush motives and policies, allowed him to lead the nation. Despite the conservative policies' role in the near financial collapse, the erroneous adventures in the Middle East, the disaster of the Katrina disaster---- in other words, everything that caused the public in the last election to throw them out, it has not humbled them. The culture wars are still going on, fiercer than ever.

Changing the filibuster rules is certainly worth pursuing. But it's the trunk of the elephant.

Congress is stymied, not by filibuster rules or Republicans per se, but by lobbyists, who have completely infiltrated the system, ghost write legislation, draft talking points, and reward their friends.

Joe Lieberman made a few million that way. Follow the money.

And the media, our Third Estate, has turned into a circus. Frank Rich opines this week about the theater of Tiger Woods, and meditates on how many heroes: multicultural golfer icons, trusted bankers, attractive politicians, righteous crusaders, have turned out to be frauds.

Really, how is anyone to know what to believe?

Extremism is happening because it works for the Republicans. In an era of complexity, with dark scenarios on the horizon, the loud squeal of righteous anger penetrates all the other noise. The right flings hyperbole, screams at the President, makes wild claims, the media pretends it's populism, and Democrats try to move forward by the usual compromises, which only encourages the snarling dogs. How do you respond to a rain of falsehoods?

How do you penetrate the noise with calmness? How do you defeat extremism with humility? That's Obama's problem. Having entranced the Democrats with a vision of red/blue reconciliation, and done his best to move in that direction, the right has chosen to counter by throwing out any pretense of moderation. What was his strength, is now Obama's weakness.

Krugman worries that, with big issues on the horizon, this kind of knock down drag em out politics threatens to paralyze the nation precisely when we need to act.

You bet, Krugman, that's the point of it.

Obama won over many undecideds with his quiet confidence, in the heart of the storm. I have some hope, still, that having tried the right door, and found it full of seething dittoheads, he may come up with a different tactic on the next round. What that will be, I'm not sure.

But yes, some kind of intervention is called for.