David Corn sat in on Dick Durbin explaining the filibuster deal and he’s come out with a good write-up of the senator’s rationale. Durbin’s disappointed, so those of you who found the halfway measure distasteful can rest easy in Dick’s arms. But he’s also resigned. According to him, we didn’t have the votes to stop the nuclear option, and a senate shutdown would be a very, very hard PR battle to win. The best case scenario, certainly, was voting the option down. But once that proved out of reach, this was second best for the Democrats.

Ezra Klein is a former Prospect writer and current editor-in-chief at Vox. His work has appeared in the LA Times, The Guardian, The Washington Monthly, The New Republic, Slate, and The Columbia Journalism Review. He’s been a commentator on MSNBC, CNN, NPR, and more.