The delays here should not be blamed on a government shutdown or the SEC or FINRA or the farm bill. The blame falls at the feet of the doctor. The delay is either the result of ongoing negotiations or lack of negotiations with merger candidates that the doctor is engaged with. The longer it goes on the more I fear that we end up with a deal that is not even half as big as we imagined and we will all be disappointed. Either way, we will have the doctor to thank for what we get.