Boehner blames Mr. Obama for the mess he and the Tea Party extremists have made and for the threat of financial ruination he and the Tea Party have placed in front of the American people.
Americans aren't buying Boehner's nonsense. They've seen the president offer an unprecedented deal and seen that deal rejected. The American people are on Mr. Obama's side in this debate.
BOEHNER BLAMES OBAMA, but let's talk about blame:
The Chart That Should Accompany All Discussions of the Debt Ceiling
This chart is based on data from the Congressional Budget Office and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Its significance is not partisan (who's "to blame" for the deficit) but intellectual. It demonstrates the utter incoherence of being very concerned about a structural federal deficit but ruling out of consideration the policy that was largest single contributor to that deficit, namely the Bush-era tax cuts.
ROBERT KUTTNER explains how this could play out:
"Here are a couple of things to keep in mind as the great contrived national debt crisis enters its final week.
First, the Republicans are starting to lose whatever credibility they had with the broad public, as regular people finally start focusing on this story. The economic stakes are very high, President Obama was willing to give them most of the loaf, and they still wouldn't make a deal.
Second, no matter what the White House and Speaker Boehner claim, there is no way to do a big complex budget agreement between now and next week. The details are far too complex. Even the Gang of Six proposal was nothing more than broad outlines.
Third, as this drama goes down to the wire, and financial markets begin to contemplate the possibility that the United States will actually default on its debts, the pressure on the Republicans by their Wall Street allies will only grow.
At some point this week, stock and bond markets will begin to start swooning, and the usual wise guys will begin making high-risk bets at the expense of financial stability as a whole. Credit rating agencies, which should be accorded zero credibility after their role in causing the financial collapse by blessing junk sub-prime securities as Triple-A, could start downgrading the debt of the United States.
And then things will get really interesting. The President of the United States will be revealed to be holding more of the cards -- if he has the nerve to start playing his hand well (for a change)."
REPUBLICANS REFUSE TO MAKE A DEAL--ANY DEAL UNLESS IT'S THEIR DEAL.
REPUBLICANS REFUSE TO MAKE A DEAL--ANY DEAL UNLESS IT'S THEIR DEAL.
