The nub of the issue is this: in a “negotiation” to get Congressional funding for the wall, there is nothing the president has that the Democrats want, other than his resignation. It is not a lack of will to get the wall funded, it is a lack of cards to play in the negotiation. He thought there might be something in some kind of exchange over DACA, but the Democrats think eventually they will get everything they want so there was no reason for them to parley.

If it is the popular will of the majority of Americans that it maintains an open border with Mexico, so that anyone who wishes can come and camp and settle in the United States, then that is what will ultimately prevail. A madness on stilts.

Lots of critics around this morning, but not a single practical solution. It is only a three-week lull in the shutdown, but how things will be different three weeks who can say. The President says he has “a very powerful alternative” but that we shall see.