*** Pinning the debt-ceiling responsibility on Congress: It appears that the chief goal of Obama’s press conference yesterday was to pin the responsibility -- and potential blame -- on Congress for raising (or not raising) the debt ceiling. “There's one way to get around this. There's one way to deal with it. And that is for Congress to authorize me to pay for those items of spending that they have already authorized,” Obama said. And there’s also a reason why the White House decided to abandon the idea of any Plan B (like the $1 trillion platinum coin or the 14th Amendment): They will own part of the chaos if they pursue a Plan B. But by having no Plan B, the Obama White House is trying to ensure that raising the debt ceiling is all on Congress. What’s more, Obama seemed to accept that a government shutdown -- and not the debt ceiling -- is the better place to have a fiscal fight. “Well, ultimately, Congress makes the decisions about whether or not we spend money and whether or not we keep this government open… I think [a government shutdown] would be a mistake. I think it would be profoundly damaging to our economy… But they’re elected representatives, and folks put them into those positions and they’re going to have to make a decision about that.” ....cont2/-
*** Pinning the debt-ceiling responsibility on Congress: It appears that the chief goal of Obama’s press conference yesterday was to pin the responsibility -- and potential blame -- on Congress for raising (or not raising) the debt ceiling. “There's one way to get around this. There's one way to deal with it. And that is for Congress to authorize me to pay for those items of spending that they have already authorized,” Obama said. And there’s also a reason why the White House decided to abandon the idea of any Plan B (like the $1 trillion platinum coin or the 14th Amendment): They will own part of the chaos if they pursue a Plan B. But by having no Plan B, the Obama White House is trying to ensure that raising the debt ceiling is all on Congress. What’s more, Obama seemed to accept that a government shutdown -- and not the debt ceiling -- is the better place to have a fiscal fight. “Well, ultimately, Congress makes the decisions about whether or not we spend money and whether or not we keep this government open… I think [a government shutdown] would be a mistake. I think it would be profoundly damaging to our economy… But they’re elected representatives, and folks put them into those positions and they’re going to have to make a decision about that.” ....cont2/-
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