CHARLIE MARTIN: “At this point, whether or not the government shuts down tomorrow night is almost entirely in the hands of the Democrats in the Senate and of the skinny guy with the ears. This suggests that the decision will be determined principally by the Democrats’ calculation: will it, or won’t it, pay off politically?”

UPDATE: Reader Jason Muckenthaler emails:

It seems to me that whenever there is a threat of a government shutdown, it’s portrayed as just this side of a tsunami-level disaster. When government workers – teachers, sanitation workers, etc – go on strike, it’s portrayed as the middle-class worker sticking up for himself. Why is it that a government shut-down caused by a desire to spend less money is different than a government shutdown caused by workers failing to do their jobs – isn’t the effect the same?

Indeed.