Deeply divided over how to control federal spending, Congress on Thursday again managed to avoid a government shutdown by approving a temporary spending bill that will carry the nation all the way until Tuesday. At the risk of using a phrase that may be used too often: Is that the best we can do?

Any time an organization’s actions are driven by urgency and crisis, the organization is not likely to make forward-looking decisions or steer a sensible course. And, indeed, that’s just what we see with Congress. Last-minute votes, over and over again, with absolutely no progress on substantive issues. So short-term is the House and Senate outlook that, when members return from recess next week their next decision will be on a spending bill to extend government operations another seven weeks.

Hardly an ambitious agenda.

Some level of political fighting is normal in Washington, and even welcome. This year, the tone is so uncooperative that the closest Congress can come to an ambitious vision for the future is seven weeks.

It is a situation for which every representative and senator needs to share some blame, and which will take the efforts of all to correct — and particularly those who are more often bystanders to the bickering than active participants. It is those members of Congress, often somewhat moderate, who need to step up and demand better behavior from the extremists.

Americans should not tolerate an ineffective Congress, and time for those now in office to demonstrate they can be effective is passing swiftly.