When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1989, U.S. politics lost an imposed discipline that had been necessary during the course of such a bipolar conflict as the Cold War.  This became particularly evident two years later, when a black conservative named Clarence Thomas was nominated for the Supreme Court by President George H.W. Bush.  During a time of peace and economic quietude, the guns still came out over the confirmation of an eminently qualified justice.

Thomas's problem was that he thought for himself, rather than be dogmatically "down for the struggle" with all of the required obedience to the dictates of the Progressive left.  Hence, Americans were forced to suffer through the spectacle of Anita Hill describing her trauma at hearing Mr. Thomas claiming to notice a pubic hair on the lid of his Coke can.  Oh, dear!  The "I believe you, Anita" bumper stickers were already being printed, and Rush Limbaugh feasted on imitating Hill's friend "Judge" Hirschner (actually a workers' comp referee).

Without the communist monolith on the other side of the fence, American politicians were more inclined to focus even more of their wrath on one another.  Also, the bar was lowered...and people of lesser substance entered the talent pool.  The early days of the Clinton administration were beyond chaotic, compelling Helen Thomas of the United Press to blurt out at a White House press briefing, "Your administration is going down the drain."  Bill Clinton, being no slouch, quickly brought in David "Rodham" Gergen to clean up his message and contain the damage.

Going backwards through the mists of time, prior to the Civil War, most executive authority in the U.S. was in the hands of the governors of the several states.  The need to conscript reluctant young men brought more power into the hands of the federal government.  Leftist totalitarians are constantly pushing for more centralized government so as to further suppress dissent.  But still, prior to 1932, at least according to William Manchester, Washington, D.C. remained a sleepy Southern village.  FDR's plethora of "alphabet soup" federal bureaucracies changed the landscape.  What better time to construct many impressive office buildings than when there's record high unemployment?

In recent times, the Obama presidency opened the door to ideology as a dominant political factor.  Ability to properly manage large-scale endeavors was subordinated to paying lip service to the orchestrated demands of concocted victim groups.  Trump's presidency was a reaction to all of this.  The rabbit warrens of the bureaucracy were already festooned with Obamanoids.  Not all were on board, however...hence the current struggle.

It may also be true that Obama didn't cause ideology to overwhelm the politics of the left.  He may just be a symptom of a far-reaching process.  Bernie Sanders and Lizard Warren, though depreciated caricatures, are others.

Biden's presidency is a manifestation brought forth by concealed puppet-masters.  How else could such nonsense as banning gas cooking stoves and internal combustion engines ever enter into discussions of "serious" public policy — let alone taxing unrealized capital gains or putting intersectionality ahead of merit in selecting appointees?  The shock troops of the opposition are being called "whistle-blowers" — and they are having at least some effect, while also causing various degrees of turmoil among some of the "news" outlets.

The tenuous nature of Biden's campaign for re-election is stirring the pot with even more vigor.  As he continues to decline as a human being, his poll numbers follow suit.  Meanwhile, even the political hacks in the DOJ have run out of ways to protect Biden from the gathering storm over his son Hunter's criminality.  But then, timing is everything.  Having Biden's presidency seriously collapse soon, there will possibly be adequate time to effect damage control and showcase a suitable replacement.  However, should the misery drag on without resolution, Democrat prospects will plunge.

I am willing to assume that Biden's commitment to running again was to avoid lapsing into lame duck status before going into the confrontation with Congress over the debt limit.  If so, it still wasn't worth it.

Radical shifts in public policy are not without precedent.  In 1919, the Constitution was successfully amended to outlaw all forms of alcoholic beverages, with the slight exception for pre-existing religious requirements such as Holy Communion.  This is at least partially linked to the granting of universal voting rights to women.  Income tax was also linked to Prohibition, since 30% of federal revenue had been coming from the tax on alcohol.  Needless to say, America was then gripped by a wave of crime.  The amendment was ultimately repealed at the end of 1933...after being the dominant issue in the presidential election of 1932.

Image: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center via Flickr, CC BY 2.0 (cropped).