Lying There and Staring at the Ceiling

President Obama's speech tonight about raising the debt ceiling was meant to get Americans to rise to the occasion and call members of Congress for a balanced approach. He left the podium in the East Room with Americans - at least this American - even more pessimistic. Though Obama tried to be reasonable and offered the House Republican leadership all sorts of cuts along with tax increases as a peace offering, he offered no real re-assurance that the middle class would get a fairer shake from Washington. Obama's latest remarks were no more eye-opening and inspiring than his earlier remarks.

House Speaker John Boehner treated Obama's milquetoasty remarks as impudent sarcasm, and he offered a good heap of his own. Boehner refused to acknowledge any of Obama's overtures and even blamed the President for the economic mess we're in, declaring that he would never submit to any reckless taxation and spending offered by the White House. Boehner wants only to cut, cap, and balance expenditures - really, cut, cut, and cut - and allow a debt ceiling increase only for six months to set the stage for cutting, cutting, and more cutting. We're left with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid's plan, which would allow a greater amount of cuts with no tax increases on the rich and with savings projections based on the winding down of war expenditures in Iraq and Afghanistan in order to extend the debt ceiling beyond the 2012 presidential and congressional elections.

This is progress?

Obama said that letting the debt ceiling expire isn't proper for the greatest nation on earth. It isn't proper for America either.