Round Two - the Debt Ceiling Debate

In the exhaustive aftermath of the political posturing session to settle the nation's budget issues Americans must now bear witness to our lawmaker's pretentious foray into the decision of whether or not to raise the debt limit. The United States is poised to hit the $14.294 trillion borrowing ceiling on May 16th.

If congress cannot reach an agreement to raise the debt limit from its current level of $14,300 billion by May 16^th the Treasury will no longer be able to fund current annual deficit spending of more than $1,500 billion. Nor will they have the capacity to spend additional money or even pay liability interest on previously issued debt . President Obama and Democrats warn that damages caused from failure to raise the debt ceiling would go beyond the humiliation of having our country defaulting on its debt. Interest rates would soar as well and spark another financial crisis to further cripple our already fragile economy. Businesses in particular would not be able to sustain another blow.

President Obama, who increased the national debt more in his first nineteen months than every president from Washington to Reagan combined, wants the debt ceiling raised immediately. This is a curious stance to be taken by someone who staunchly opposed similar legislation proposed by the Bush administration in 2006. "Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally," then Senator Obama postulated on the senate floor. "America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better." Then again, Americans deserved to have the president and both democrat controlled houses of congress do their job of passing a budget back on October 1^st of 2010 as to avoid the whole eleventh-hour budget fiasco in the first place. But I digress.

House Republicans are threatening to block democrat efforts to raise the debt ceiling unless President Obama and Senate Democrats agree to much deeper spending cuts than the $38 billion, six-month eleventh-hour budget deal they agreed to late Friday evening last week. Members of the GOP say they want serious limits on future spending in exchange for their votes to raise the debt ceiling. House Speaker John Boehner insists the restrictions must be "really, really big."

There are serious matters facing our country, which should be foremost in the minds of our president and lawmakers in Washington. However, our leaders on Capitol Hill seem more intent upon status quo political posturing than achieving the elusive bipartisanship both sides repeatedly campaign to deliver during election cycles. Obama, despite a public façade of detached confidence, faces the very real possibility that he may not win re-election. While immersed in denial regarding the overwhelming American opposition to the legislation they continue to push and defend, Democrats are effectively setting themselves up for a 2012 version of their 2010 November mid-term drubbing. As for Republicans, their childish bickering over the party power shovel precludes them from achieving the lofty pre-November promises for which they were permitted to play in the House majority sandbox again in the first place. For all of their rhetoric, the GOP leaders seem oblivious that Americans are still watching - with even greater scrutiny - as they give Democrats all the fodder necessary to keep them distracted and ineffective.

Currently, the U.S federal debt is growing by approximately $3 billion per week. In the meantime, President Obama delivered a major budget-speech Wednesday from George Washington University. According to White House spokesman Jay Carney the address would "very clearly lay out his vision for deficit reduction, address the long-term drivers of our debt [and call] for everyone to share in the burden of bringing our financial house back in order." Indeed, in addition to the crushing sacrifices our president has already demanded of Americans during his first two years in office, we heard him describe the supplementary tax pressures he plans to administer for the next two years.

In the wake of Obama's official re-election announcement video, sent only to his supporters rather than the nation as a whole, only 27 percent of likely voters favor raising the nation's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. Sixty-two percent are opposed. While there is the expectedly solid Republican opposition of 77%, the danger facing democrats and their 2012 political wish list rests in the disappointed minds of independent voters. Increasingly critical of President Obama and his 2012 re-election bid, 64% of independents give him thumbs down on his debt elevation proposal. Even more democrats oppose than favor raising the debt limit.

For our president, who seems more intent on securing tee-times or taking another family vacation than tackling our nation's mounting economic problems, he is further demonstrating how out of touch he is with the reality of our suffering. While passing the leadership buck to congress or Joe Biden on matters of our economy rather than leading them toward a resolution as a president should, these may be decisive moments that herald the ultimate demise of his presidency. Then again, therein lays the danger in deciding to spend most of one's time in office runningfor re-election rather than embracing the responsibility of being president once given the privilege the first time.

Sources:

Damian Paletta, "Debt Ceiling Looms as Next Big Battle", Wall Street Journal

Neil Munro, " Debt-ceiling, Ryan bill, linked by White House ", The Daily Caller

Terrence P. Jeffrey, "Obama Added More to National Debt in First 19 Months Than All Presidents from Washington Through Reagan Combined, Says Gov't Data", CNS News.com

Jake Tapper, "Senator Obama's Vote Against Raising the Debt Ceiling and the Assassination of Salman Taseer: Today's Q's for O's WH -1/5/2010", ABC News

Jared Allen, "Dems won't pass budget in 2010", The Hill

Carl Hulse, "Budget Deal to Cut $38 Billion Averts Shutdown", The New York Times

Erik Wasson, "THE HILL POLL: Voters oppose raising the $14.3T debt ceiling", The Hill

Sam Stein, "Obama Debt Speech: Tax Increases, Medicare Changes Included in President's Plan", Huffpost Politics

"President Obama Job Approval", Real Clear Politics

Jeannie DeAngeles, "Commodus Castigates a Centurion" The American Thinker

Jennifer Epstein, "Manchin: Obama leadership 'not what I'm used to", Politico

Stephen Dinan, "Biden leaving in middle of budget talks", The Washington Times

Meredith Jessup, "Obama: Campaigner-in-Chief", TownHall.com