Over the past decade, the United States has gone through a series of standoffs over the federal budget and the debt limit with an ever-changing cast of characters. Starting from the original 2011 version, starring Barack Obama as the beleaguered Democratic president and John Boehner as the embattled Republican speaker of the House, these fights have become a feature of American politics. The cast changes, as do some plot details, but, like the Fast & Furious franchise, the same…