After one last attempt in the House failed to even make it to the floor for a vote, we now find ourselves staring down the eleventh hour before the debt ceiling expires, and the nation risks defaulting on its debts for the first time in history.

Thus, Senate leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell have recommenced their own negotiations, the goal to force the House to vote on a senate manufactured solution that would reopen the government and extend the debt ceiling into the beginning of next year. The deal would allow for a few noncontroversial concessions of the Affordable Care Act while laying the groundwork for a bicameral committee to bang out a broader budget plan by mid December.

Mr. President, Mr. Speaker–take the deal. Take the deal and run like you stole something. Take the deal as well as a moment to stop and realize just how far this madness has gotten, how close to disaster we came. Take the deal, but don’t smile, don’t be proud, don’t think anything good has come from this because the absence of catastrophe does not always equal valor and virtue.

For Mr. Boehner that means no more games, and no more walking around as though being guided by puppet strings attached to the most extremist fingers of his caucus. For the Speaker of the House, it means grabbing whatever ragtag or responsible Republicans he can find, hitching them to the Democrats in the House, and making this happen. It means realizing, for once, that his role as Speaker is not even remotely close to being as important to the survival of the country.

For Mr. Obama and his Democrats, there is a call to humility. It is easy for Democrats to think that they are “winning,” but there is a lot of truth to the idea that the only reason why is because Republicans are playing this scenario so much worse than they are. Because House Republicans have been so unreasonable, Democrats, by default, look a little bit saner, but be warned. Saner than insane is not an encouraging endorsement, and public opinion can turn on a dime.

The second Democrats are seen as refusing a reasonable deal that could pull this country out of a crisis, whatever political capital they may have earned through this crisis will evaporate quickly. Truth be told, if the country is allowed to default on its debt, thus sparking a global financial crisis, I don’t think there will be a lot of people worrying about whether a congressman has a D or an R after their name.

For everyone in Washington, now is the time to realize that catastrophe is no longer on the horizon; it is knocking on our doors ready to sell us a traveling case full of misery and hardship. As I write this, the sun is getting ready to rise on the 16th day of an unnecessary government shutdown, just one day before the US Treasury projects that the government will no longer be able to meet its obligations without rapidly running out of funds. If congress can’t over the course of the next 24 to 48 hours make this happen, it could be the greatest indictment on our system of government we’ve ever seen.

So please, Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, and every elected member of congress, ignore your job security for once, ignore your legacies and your ideological bindings, and take the deal.