It should not be possible for a small minority to threaten catastrophe if the rest of the government decides not to embrace an extreme agenda of austerity and the dismantling of programs for the elderly and the less fortunate.

And both seem to have a major hearing problem...Republicans are on the record saying that debt-ceiling-as-hostage will be the order of the day for the next decade, that the caps will not be the end of the cutting, but one stage of the cutting.

I guess my question is, is Geithner's and Obama's willful ignorance of Republicans' refusal to ever play nice, no matter how many of their demands are met, and their constant public statements each time this happens that they have "laid the groundwork for more cooperation in the future," proof of their cunning, or their underestimation of the American public's intelligence?

Or, have they just figured out the language of bamboozlement, honed by Geithner's years on Wall Street and Obama's in his climb up the political ladder, to placate the public while going on their merry way of destroying whatever chances the 98% of the population had to improve their lives?  In other words, just part of the plan.

Jesus, even Larry Summers is calling BS on this craptastic deal:

The United States's current problem is much more a jobs and growth deficit than an excessive budget deficit. This is confirmed by the fact that a single bad economic statistic more than wiped out all the stock market gains from the avoidance of default and the fact that bond yields reached new lows at the moment of maximum apparent danger on the debt limit.

On the current policy path which involves a substantial withdrawal of fiscal stimulus when the payroll tax cuts expire at the end of the year, it would be surprising if growth was rapid enough even to bring unemployment down to 8.5 percent by the end of 2012. With growth at less than 1 percent in the first half of the year, the economy is now at stall speed--with the prospects of adverse shocks from a European financial crisis that is decidedly not under control, spikes in oil prices, and confidence declines on the part of businesses and households. Based on the flow of statistics, the odds of the economy going back into recession are at least 1 in 3 if nothing new is done to raise demand and spur growth.

Obama's kept Geithner on long enough that I know, without a doubt, that if he leaves, he will be replaced with someone in the same mold.

The government's ability to make smart, long-term budget choices has long been broken. This gives us a chance to fix it.

Really?  I am pretty completely sure I do not want Democratic Presidents making long term budget choices with the lunatics who took over the House.  What happened to first do no harm?

But why would anything change with the Super Catfood Commission?

Is there a good way to stop this?  I would like to be optimistic and contribute to the solution......but as current trends go, the news from Training Camp and Free Agency Signings seems more worthy of attention.

lowers the prospect of using the debt limit as an instrument of coercion

just slays me.

Classic fool.  It's amazing that people outside the Beltway get that extortion is now a part of discourse and people like Geithner either don't get it or hope no one else notices.

And this:

The government's ability to make smart, long-term budget choices has long been broken. This gives us a chance to fix it.

Long term problems like continuing engagement in two unfunded major conflicts.  Free shot to raise revenue blown and worsened.  A recovery measure (ARRA) consisting of nearly 40% tax cuts.

These were all fixable on his effing watch.