The last presidential press conference of Obama's 1st term, nets nothing new and we find that most unfortunate. We were expecting the final press Q&A to produce something more definitive, substantive or perhaps just a clarification of President Obama's options in dealing with the debt ceiling confrontation. To keep repeating his administration will not negotiate with economic hostage takers, don't take into account, that some hostage takers always intend to kill the hostage. What then we ask.
How the President can remain adamant about sticking to his guns over the debt ceiling crisis, when the GOP is clearly preparing the nation's creditors for the "Blow Off Peter to pay Paul" strategy is more than a mystery now. With mouth's agape, we watched President Obama sidestep laying out any specific remedies available to override a damaging GOP government shutdown or worse.
Because he's sticking his head in the sand on this one, President Obama is leaving America's economic ass hanging out. Okay, the "Trillion Dollar Coin" did seem a little gimmicky and the 14th amendment is not an option, but from where we stand, the administration had better have something to whip out should whippin' time arrive.
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday... WASHINGTON--Republican lawmakers on Monday renewed calls on the Obama administration to prioritize payments to bond holders in the event Congress fails to quickly increase the $16.394 trillion borrowing cap, a step they said would prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its debt obligations. The government has already brushed up against the $16.394 trillion debt limit, and could run out of cash to pay all of its bills by the middle of February if the cap isn't raised. But Sen. David Vitter (R., La.) said the U.S. can avoid a financial crisis if it misses some payments while staying current on those owed to its bond holders. "If you have a family member about to max out a credit card, you don't figure out how to increase the limit," he said in a statement. "You work to reduce the amount of spending."
Somehow, these murmurings sound less than a tactical negotiating threat and more like a commitment to a cause. If the GOP has been radicalized to such an extent, so as to further cripple the nation's credibility as a world leader by confirming America's inability to govern, there has to be some way to stop them. This problem has to have an answer and the President is obligated to tell Americans and the global economic community what that answer is. There is no way around it.
The longer this problem persist, the uglier the outcome will be. The country shouldn't have to sit on pins and needles wondering if they'll be on the Peter list and get paid, or will they be treated like Paul and get stiffed. If the unthinkable is the case and there truly no existing legal mechanism to resolve this specific issue, then the nation and the world needs to know this too. And the sooner, the better!
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