It's time to wrap up this comedy of political errors.  —  The Beltway budget melodrama rolls on to its predictable and dreary end, with both sides now split over increasingly small differences.  None of this is worth a partial government shutdown, much less the risk of a debt default, and both sides are looking like losers.

Why we miss Kay Bailey Hutchison  —  Things surely would look far different with Sen. Hutchison in office in the nation's capital  —  Does anyone else miss Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison?  —  We're not sure how much difference one person could make in the toxic, chaotic, hyperpartisan atmosphere in Washington …

Houston Chronicle Yanks Ted Cruz Endorsement  —  As the federal government enters its sixteenth day of shutdown and stands just hours away from defaulting on the national debt, the largest newspaper in Texas has pulled its endorsement of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

Stunned Republicans React to Canceled Vote  —  Referring to his plan to preemptively send the Senate a House-passed bill, Speaker John Boehner told his conference this morning that he'd “rather throw a grenade than catch a grenade.”  But with his right-wing troops abandoning him again it was the speaker left holding the bomb.

Breaking: Boehner to take vote on Senate compromise 1st, pass it with Dem votes  —  The endgame will arrive a little sooner than expected, thanks to a deal cut with John Boehner to take the first plunge on a bipartisan plan to end the budget standoff before the theoretical debt-ceiling limit gets breached.

House Republicans Show Themselves To Be Dangerously Incompetent, Again  —  House Republican leaders canceled plans to call a vote Tuesday evening on a Republican plan to raise the debt limit and reopen the government.  They couldn't round up enough Republican votes to pass it.

Senate Leaders ‘Very Close’ to Debt, Shutdown Deal … With less than a day remaining before the debt limit is reached, Congress will need to work feverishly today to pass compromise legislation that would extend the debt ceiling and end the government shutdown.

Senate reaches deal to end shutdown, avert default  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will soon announce an agreement to reopen the government and avert default on U.S. debt, according to several sources familiar with the talks.

Carl Bernstein: GOP leadership ‘cancerous’  —  Journalist and author Carl Bernstein said Wednesday that Republican Party leadership is “cancerous” and has put the United States at risk by letting the tea party lead the GOP.  —  “The Republican Party today has become a rabid organization from the top down.