Congress has just about hit the bottom of the barrel in terms of doing its job -- passing legislation necessary to meet America's needs.

Perhaps the scariest aspect of its inaction is the smugness with which some of its members appear to regard their inaction. Sen. Mitch McConnell, 65, the Senate Republican leader from Kentucky, clearly takes pride in the fact that in spite of his party's minority position he is still able to block any legislation that he, or his lame-duck masters in the White House, do not feel meets their every need.

He is able to do that because the Democrats do not have the 60 votes -- nine over a majority -- to end a filibuster or the two-thirds to overcome a threatened veto by President Bush. Mr. Bush, as opposed to becoming more reasonable in his waning months as president, has remained obdurate in protecting his and his party's special interests as the clock runs out. These include opposition to fuel economy rules, which the oil companies don't like, as well as insisting on another $200 billion for the Iraq war, without provision for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

In the face of the inertia enforced by the Republicans and alleged independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, the Democrats, led by Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, seem able only to dither and complain. Other potential Democratic leaders, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, are in far-from-Washington Iowa and New Hampshire campaigning for the presidential nomination.

In the meantime, although the 2008 fiscal year began more than two months ago, congressional action on only one of 12 appropriations bills has been completed. In principle the U.S. government will shut down tomorrow unless someone does something. (The thought is tempting.) Absent congressional action, Mr. Bush's veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program bill stands as another horrendous example of the price of congressional abdication of responsibility.

There may be a sliver of hope for Americans in the fact that our noble legislators probably want to go home for the holidays and are under some compulsion to enact at least the spending bills before leaving Washington.

Other than that, it is worth recalling that all of the House members and a third of the senators will be up for election next year.