When Cokie interviewed President Bush a few weeks ago, the talk turned to the issue of immigration. The president has a long history of reaching out to Hispanics and advocating a path to citizenship for illegal aliens, and he’s deeply frustrated that his proposals have died on Capitol Hill.

Too many congressional districts, he said, are drawn to guarantee safe seats for one party or the other. So for many lawmakers, their only real threat comes from their “flank,” from a primary challenger who accuses them of ideological impurity. As a result, they respond to the extreme views in their own party, and won’t risk making compromises across the aisle.

Expanding on his point to the Washington Post, the president argued that the result is legislative paralysis. When lawmakers “have no worry about the general election,” they have no incentive to take “a rational position” on “polarizing, tough issues,” he said. They’re much safer playing to their base. And for most Republicans, that means decrying as “amnesty” any “rational” attempt at reforming immigration rules.

This is what the new president will face next January – a dysfunctional Congress that seems totally incapable of dealing with “polarizing, tough issues,” and the problem goes far beyond immigration. Health insurance, energy independence, budget deficits and strains on the retirement system from aging baby boomers – the list of congressional failures is endless.