“As long as I’m around here, I’m not going to allow a debt-ceiling increase without doing something serious about the debt.” — House Leader John Boehner to President Obama today. Full story here.
Read the rest of this entry »Mr. Obama’s Debt Request
The U.S. D-Day Museum estimates the total economic cost of WWII — all nations combined — at $1.6 trillion. One could spend two lifetimes itemizing the destruction wrought during that war on Europe and Asia, and the staggering amount of war materials used therein by the Allied and Axis powers. Many, many cities were flattened to […]
Read the rest of this entry »Romney Out of Hiding
Mitt Romney has done a very good job — politically — in staying above the debt ceiling fray for the past several weeks. It is no easy feat to do that as a Republican front-runner for President. Today Romney emerged from hiding on the issue with shot-gun barrels blazing at President Obama. Said Romney: “As president, my plan […]
Read the rest of this entry »Not Even Scratching the Surface
It is hard to keep up with the various plans in Washington to raise the debt ceiling. But one thing is clear: None of the proposals even begin to get U.S. debt under control. That is getting lost in this debate. It is the frightening reality. The “grand compromise plan” –- The Obama-Boehner plan […]
Read the rest of this entry »Lost Tea Party Messaging
Tea Party members in Congress are ignoring a key component of their messaging to their very great detriment. Maybe they are delivering it back to their home districts, but I hear nothing in the national debate about America’s youth. And our young people, after all, are what the Tea Party revolt is all about. It […]
Read the rest of this entry »Doltish Debt Depictions
Ronald Reagan famously described in 1980 how the national debt, if stacked in dollar bills, would extend almost to the moon. I remember watching him say it on television and thinking “my God.” It made quite an impression, not just on me, but on the country. People spoke about that visual for the rest of […]
Read the rest of this entry »Bring in Sgt. Rickles
Less than two weeks ago these pages noted that just 40% of bettors on the Dublin “In Trade Exchange” believed that a U.S. Debt Ceiling deal would be struck by midnight on July 31st. That number is down to 22% today. Where’s Don Rickles when you need him (video below.) YouTube
Read the rest of this entry »Making Congress Squirm
The closer the US gets to debt ceiling D-Day, the more I find myself rooting for the Tea Party coalition in Congress. Part of the reason is that I love big news stories. I root for record temperatures in the summer and historic snowfalls in the winter. I can’t help it; it’s how I’m built. […]
Read the rest of this entry »Pelosi: Obama and I “Almost Too Busy” for Debt Talks
Nancy Pelosi probably wants this one back.
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