F Day

  "In 2010, Americans chose a divided government, but they didn’t choose a dysfunctional government."-- President Obama, Friday morning at University of Maryland. 

"And I think that one of the questions that the Republican Party is going to have to ask itself is can they say yes to anything?"--President Obama, Friday evening press conference. 

D Day--Debt Day, Deficit Day, Deal Day--turned into F Day, Fail Day, when John Banal walked away from the deal that was apparently far along in its negotiation.

Banal stopped talking to the President Thursday night, didn't return calls, and evidently waited until the stock markets closed for the weekend before announcing he was walking away from negotiations with the White House.  He was pointed in saying he would seek an agreement with congressional colleagues.  His intention was clearly to blame the White House.

The President however effectively countered that in his press conference, as seen above, or here with the partial transcript.  He summoned congressional leaders to the White House Saturday morning to hear their plan to keep the country from defaulting.  He said that he would accept the McConnell concept of shifting the decision to raise the debt ceiling to him, but his condition is that it be sufficient to last beyond the 2012 election.  Later, Speaker Banal gave his conditions: that there be cuts at least equal to the amount of the new debt ceiling--some $2.4 trillion--with no "tax increase."  The only proposal that even looks like that has come, ironically perhaps, from Nancy Pelosi--a plan for about $2 trillion in cuts.  But even though both President Obama and Speaker Banal stated flatly that the debt ceiling has to be raised, there is a lot of pain ahead this weekend, and a deal is by no means a certainty.  If the way is not clear by Sunday, the markets on Monday are likely to go into full panic.

The instant coverage resulted in some astute observations (I was impressed by Major Garrett) and a lot of blather.  Like a lot of what President Obama said "for the first time" in his press conference--when there was almost nothing that President Obama said for the first time in his press conference.  It's one thing that people with actual lives don't listen or read the transcripts, but those people are being paid a lot of money to at least pay attention.

It also occurs to me that while a deficit plan is a political necessity, both in terms of national confidence and especially to reassure credit agencies and other economic entities, that it is all science fiction.  These ten year plans all must be altered even in relatively normal times.  But ten years from now, things are likely to be so different from today that nobody will remember what 2011 was actually like.  And given these events, nobody will want to remember.

President Obama at his press conference Friday evening on the spectre of the U.S. being forced into default by its own legislature:

      That should not be an option. I’m getting letters from people who write me and say, at the end of every month I have to skip meals. Senior citizens on Social Security who are just hanging on by a thread. Folks who have severe disabilities who are desperate every single month to try to figure out how they’re going to make ends meet. But it’s not just those folks. You’ve got business contractors who are providing services to the federal government, who have to wonder are they going to be able to get paid and what does that do in terms of their payrolls.

You’ve got just a huge number of people who, in one way or another, interact with the federal government. And even if you don’t, even if you’re not a recipient of Social Security, even if you don’t get veterans’ benefits or disabilities, imagine what that does to the economy when suddenly 70 million checks are put at risk. I mean, if you’re a business out there, that is not going to be good for economic growth. And that’s the number one concern of the American people. So we’ve got to get it done. It is not an option not to do it.

President Obama on the difference between the GOPer bill and the agreement he tried to make:

The difference was that we didn’t put all the burden on the people who are least able to protect themselves, who don’t have lobbyists in this town, who don’t have lawyers working on the tax code for them -- working stiffs out there, ordinary folks who are struggling every day. And they know they’re getting a raw deal, and they’re mad at everybody about it. They’re mad at Democrats and they’re mad at Republicans, because they know somehow, no matter how hard they work, they don’t seem to be able to keep up. And what they’re looking for is somebody who’s willing to look out for them. That’s all they’re looking for.

And for us not to be keeping those folks in mind every single day when we’re up here, for us to be more worried about what some funder says, or some talk radio show host says, or what some columnist says, or what pledge we signed back when we were trying to run, or worrying about having a primary fight -- for us to be thinking in those terms instead of thinking about those folks is inexcusable.

I mean, the American people are just desperate for folks who are willing to put aside politics just for a minute and try to get some stuff done. So when Norah asked or somebody else asked why was I willing to go along with a deal that wasn’t optimal from my perspective, it was because even if I didn’t think the deal was perfect, at least it would show that this place is serious, that we’re willing to take on our responsibilities even when it’s tough, that we’re willing to step up even when the folks who helped get us elected may disagree. And at some point, I think if you want to be a leader, then you've got to lead."