‘Groundhog Day phenomenon’ needs to be understood

MOVIE QUOTES enter the cultural canon on a yearly basis, but the phrase ‘Groundhog Day’ exists on another level entirely.

“The sequester drama unfolding in Washington brings to mind that classic Bill Murray film, Groundhog Day,” announced the Wall Street Journal in February. “Only it is as if President Obama failed to catch the end of the movie, where the loop is finally broken.”

The WSJ article went on to explain the sequester and the difficulties President Obama faced, but the one thing it didn’t need to explain was the ‘Groundhog Day phenomenon’ — indeed, the article was illustrated not by a picture of President Obama but by a picture of the movie’s star, Bill Murray, looking lost and bewildered in a blizzard.