ST. LOUIS (KMOX) -  “I’m embarrassed.”

That’s U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill’s characteristically blunt assessment of the stalemate that nearly forced the country to default on its debt for the first time ever, before reaching an 11th-hour deal earlier this month.

“I think it is hard to meet someone who is not ticked off at Congress,” she told reporters.  “I’m ticked off at Congress.”

The main problem, she feels — “compromise” has become a dirty word for many lawmakers.

“Our political system is now asking people to be pure, and not compromise, and be ideologues,” she reflected.  “To never give in.”

She said it was only the dire threat of a default that forced Congress to accept a last-minute deal.

“The process, frankly, showed to our country the price we pay when we are not willing to compromise,” she concluded.

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