Enough already.

Honolulu City Council members, determined to warp a critical public project to suit their own narrow interests, should understand how childish they look. And unless the theatrics stop, Honolulu, too, will wind up looking foolish.

The theater of the absurd — you could title it "Ho-nolulu Botches the Transit System: The Sequel" — played on Wednesday to a tiny audience in chambers, and to an appalled public who only caught the tail end of the drama.

When the time came to vote on the "minimum operating segment" of the planned fixed guideway system on Wednesday, rational discussion devolved into a schoolyard brawl.

In the end, the kid still standing was Councilman Romy Cachola, who has taken his orders from constituents who favor a Salt Lake Boulevard alignment. Cachola stubbornly withheld his support for any other proposal, refusing to budge unless he got his way.

That left the project in jeopardy of missing deadlines for a congressional funding request. So the Council kicked out a compromise Phase One that falls short by most people's standards.

It begins at the site of future 'Ewa housing developments and stops at Ala Moana, missing not only the University of Hawai'i but the airport and all the workplaces along the makai corridor.

Instead, it follows Salt Lake Boulevard, drawing cheers from those who want a transit line within walking distance of their homes.

Let's face it: Bypassing the airport makes no sense. Zero.

So the phase would be shorter, Cachola said, and a little cheaper, besides catering to his constituents. But it misses key destinations important to the majority of residents and visitors alike. Did someone say absurd?

What's even more astounding than Cachola's line in the sand is the failure by Councilmembers Donovan Dela Cruz, Ann Kobayashi and Charles Djou to place priority on an airport alignment. Dela Cruz has proposed yet another version that skips the airport to be presented Tuesday, before a final vote is due. Please, spare us the political posturing.

Naturally, the process is going to involve compromise, but it's galling that a project, funded by all O'ahu taxpayers, would be treated like the personal fiefdom of individual councilmembers. There are lots of opportunities for the city's elected leaders to bolster their standing within their own districts, but this transit system isn't one of them.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann feels confident that approval of the Salt Lake alignment will not impede the project. It fulfills federal cost-benefit requirements, enabling the proposal to meet deadlines for securing federal dollars.

He believes that by the time construction nears the Halawa juncture, cooler heads will have prevailed, amending the route so that it swings by the airport after all.

Of course, councilmembers should clear the airport route from the start. And the mayor must do all that he can to make that happen. Let's quit fiddling with Honolulu's most expensive, most important public works project. Put the public good ahead of special interests, and make decisions that serve the greatest number of residents and visitors.

Or, come Election Day, the voters will find new leaders who are up to that task.