America on Autopilot

By Bill Maher

Every day I read another article by a credulous reporter who’s just ridden in a driverless car, and how it’s the future and he’s very excited… and it’s not until the sixth or seventh paragraph that you find out there was actually a person in the driver’s seat the whole time, ready to take over if the computer crapped out. Because that’s the thing about driverless cars – they’re fantastic, up to the point where you really need a driver. 

And it struck me that that’s a metaphor for Washington. Most of the time, D.C. is able to run itself. True, there’s a driver we called the President, but the day-too-day stuff happens without his input. But now, for the first time ever, Washington doesn’t have a driver. And we’re discovering just how dangerous things can get when there’s nobody at the controls.