President Obama says he wonders if Republicans can say yes to anything. He's a fine one to talk.
Americans need to understand precisely what has caused the current crisis: Barack "Don't Call My Bluff" Obama's refusal to accept a short-term hike in the debt ceiling, which Republicans support. The president is holding out for a "grand bargain" to solve the debt problem for a couple of years rather than just a few months.
That sounds statesmanlike — until you understand what lies beneath it. If Washington raises the debt ceiling only enough to last a few months, then it will have to revisit the issue next year, during a presidential election campaign. Questions about the country's astronomical debt would draw attention to the president's policies, which have increased federal spending 30 percent in the past three years.
Obama does not want anyone to think about the debt again until after the 2012 election. Washington could have reached a deal on a short-term debt-limit hike weeks ago — if the president were not so consumed with thoughts of himself.
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