The Fast Fix: Will debt ceiling fight leave voters more dissatisfied?

Voters appear ready to make both parties pay for the ugly debt ceiling fight.

No matter what happens this week, the debt ceiling fight looks like a political lose-lose situation for both parties.

For President Obama, the inability to forge compromise on a so-called "grand bargain" has the potential to undermine the brand on which he ran and won in 2008. That brand centered on his ability to do big things, to solve problems that Washington had been either unable or unwilling to solve in the past.

For House Speaker John Boehner and congressional Republicans, a small deal on the debt is likely to further erode already low public confidence in their ability to lead. Remember that while Republicans won the House majority in the 2010 election, voters didn't really like or trust them all that much. This won't help.

A high profile swing and a miss on doing something big on deficit reduction will further sour the public on politicians and the federal government.

A Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted earlier this month showed that 80 percent of people said they were either "dissatisfied" or "angry" with Washington. And, 63 percent said they wanted to vote for someone other than their member of Congress in the 2012 election.

Numbers like those should have politicians reaching for the panic button as they forecast a "throw the bums out" election next November.

---

Get The Fix in your e-mail inbox! Click here to sign-up for the Morning Fix newsletter. Click here for the Afternoon Fix newsletter. Follow The Fix on Twitter @thefix or @thehyperfix.