COMMENTARY | Eight days remain before Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will not be able to pay the nation's bills and the White House and Congress still cannot come to an agreement to extend the national debt ceiling. There are few words that describe the mess of a situation that Washington has painted us into and the risk is beyond comprehension for the average American.
This is not a discussion about whether or not the country should pay its bills. The entire debt ceiling debate is -- at its core -- a debate about leadership. President Barack Obama has been a total and complete dismal failure on this issue. He has provided no leadership in the preceding months and only stepped up to the plate when the clock was already winding down.
He is unable to control the left wing of his own party and has not struck the right chord with the right wing of the Republican Party either. His demands for greater revenues are something the GOP will not deliver and, since all revenue producing bills must originate in the House of Representatives, it was an unrealistic demand to hold on to for so long.
With the Congress divided by party and philosophy, there has never been an easy way through this debate. But Congress is an institution that has mastered the art of compromise. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Friday the debate would now shift to the halls of Congress, virtually exiling the White House into a bystander role. I think Boehner did the right thing and I think Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., agrees deep down.
Whatever compromise will be ultimately approved will have to be a deal that can pass both chambers. Boehner and Reid will work such a deal through the backdoor, quiet process that frustrates the American public to no end. But, they will work a deal.
As the clock approaches Aug. 2, Obama will have less flexibility in what he will accept and what he can veto. He is presiding over massive unemployment and deficits caused from failed stimulus programs. He cannot afford to be the only modern U.S. president to default on the national debt. And, no amount of campaign dollars will re-elect the president who slides the world back into recession or worse.
The Half Trillion Dollar Plan remains the most viable solution to our current dilemma. It provides for $500 billion in immediate cuts -- well below the targets agreed to by both parties -- and raises borrowing authority enough to pay our bills through December. Obama won't like it, but later this week, he'll have no choice but to sign it. Or he can always veto it. Regardless, it will be an action of a president on the sidelines.
I doubt the Democrats will vote to sustain a veto with default hanging over their heads. Unfortunately, there is no winner in this game. Future generations of Americans will still be swallowed up by trillions of dollars of debt regardless of the outcome. That's a shame.
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