If America defaults on its debts come Aug. 2 -- as the Obama folks warn, absent a deal by then -- what will President Obama do on Aug. 3? Why, host a big birthday bash for himself, of course, to raise cash for his re-election.
That's his plan right now, anyway. (He turns 50 on Aug. 4.) Tickets for a private birthday dinner with the prez will go for as much as $35,800 a couple.
We, too, want to wish the president a joyous birthday. But how can anyone take seriously his threats of default -- and those of underlings like Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner -- when Obama himself doesn't seem terribly concerned?
Indeed, the president and his fellow Democrats haven't seemed particularly worried about the nation's fiscal state for some time now:
* Obama has yet to produce any detailed proposal for a debt-ceiling deal, including what budget cuts he'd make. So what is it, exactly, that negotiators are supposed to agree on before Aug. 2?
* Since the president's $3.7 trillion baloney budget -- with its monstrous $9.5 trillion in deficits over 10 years -- was nixed in May by every voting Democrat and Republican in the Senate, he's yet to offer a new one.
* In 2010, House Dems failed their most basic responsibility: to pass a budget. It was Congress' first such failure in 36 years.
* House Republicans, by contrast, passed a long-range budget this year, addressing both short-term spending and long-term woes like Medicare. But the Democratic-controlled Senate voted that down -- without offering an alternative.
No wonder the warnings from Obama and Geithner have become more ominous: This week they said even Grandma might not get her Social Security check if no deal is reached by Aug. 2.
Their credibility is shot -- forcing them to heighten their threats.
Meanwhile, though, the prez has big plans for Default Day +1. |
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