July 2011

It’s a conundrum. We in the news business are constantly justifying to ourselves why we cover the stories we cover, and why you should care.

It is the second part of that formula that confounds news decision makers on a daily basis. Because if you don’t care, you don’t watch. And we kind of like it when you watch.

As Washington’s debt ceiling debate approaches its deadline, those of us who watch and cover it anxiously await its drop-dead date. Or its do or die moment. Or, its my-way-or-the-highway climax.

Skyrocketing interest rates. Huge tax hikes. Bottom lines. Gimmicks. Smoke and mirrors. Ticking clocks.
You name it, someone has said it.

ASPEN --Since we established in this space that I am a professional skeptic, I arrived at the Aspen Ideas Festival -- a kind of Rocky Mountain think-fest -- prepared for a pretty dreary recounting of where the nation stands right now.

Updated: July 8, 2011 | 12:00 p.m

The President knotted his tie and strode into the White House press briefing room Thursday to announce that he’d just concluded a “very constructive” meeting with members of Congress.

I’ve been afflicted this week with a disorienting sense of déjà vu that affects any reporter who has covered Washington long enough. Even the most consequential and operatic standoffs begin to seem eerily familiar.