In the days and weeks to come, commentators will point out that what happened today was the culmination of a set of pathologies on both sides of the political spectrum.
Yes, Trump and his followers high and low, sincere and expedient, share blame (as do those who encouraged and excused earlier left-wing, widespread and enduring rioting and destruction) - no excuse for the individuals who committed the violence themselves. But, if we want a thorough understanding we have to ask, who is responsible for Trump? How did we get to this point of such disillusionment with the political candidates, that the American public was able to elect the likes of a Donald Trump (whether or not one favored some of his policies)?
I have pointed this out before; to point to the degenerate character of Trump and his numerous supporters is a cop out. Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats will be asking this question. For the Democrats it will involve distancing from the radicals that are seen as a subversive threat to the very fabric of the country. For the Republicans it will entail finding decent articulate candidates who evince some credible semblance of adherence to the core Republican values - generally "centrist" in nature.
For the nation as a whole, the states will need to do what Florida did after 2000, namely, to examine and secure the integrity of their voting systems, and desist from ad hoc changes to that system. If justice must be seen to be done, the same is true of fairness.
And, yes, there is also the question of how the hell the security and the intelligence gathering in DC could have failed so badly?
Finally, ironically, this protest has derailed the perfunctory Congressional protests that had been planned and are now going to be abandoned in the interests of expediting the process, thus reaffirming the bipartisan commitment to the process itself.