On the Radar: July 14, 2011

Fast-Changing Political Climate Upends Debate
By David Wessel, The Wall Street Journal
For the past few weeks, old-timers in Washington and savvy bond traders around the world have watched the debt-ceiling debate in the U.S. with bemusement, assuming politicians are doing with the federal debt ceiling what they always do: Argue vociferously until the last moment at which point they do what needs to be done. Read more

One Good Debt Debate Deserves Another
By Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times
Republican leaders blinked this week in their standoff with President Obama over raising the nation's debt ceiling. That means we're unlikely to face a financial crisis next month, when the Treasury said it would run short of money to pay the federal government's bills. But it doesn't mean we've solved any of our fiscal problems. Read more

A New Wrinkle: A Push For Budget Amendment
By Naftali Bendavid, The Wall Street Journal
A growing number of Republicans say Congress must pass a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution before they will vote to raise the government's borrowing limit, creating a serious new wrinkle in the debt talks. Read more

Top Republicans Clash Over Debt-Limit Plan
By Lori Montgomery and Paul Kane, The Washington Post
Two top Republican leaders clashed Wednesday over a plan that could allow the government to avoid a potentially catastrophic default but would not ensure the deep cuts in federal spending that party members seek. Read more

Take Me To Your Leader
By John Dickerson, Slate
In the spirit of reducing waste, fraud and abuse in Washington, I suggest a drastic cut in the number of words used by any leader in Washington calling on any other leader in Washington to show leadership. Instead of endless vague generalities, they should just say: Give me what I want. Read more

Obama Lawmakers Face Fresh Doubts
By Eamon Javers, CNBC
CNBC's Eamon Javers has the story on President Obama apparently leaving talks abruptly. View

Insiders Split On Who Gets Blamed For Debt Ceiling Strikeout
By Jim Barnes, National Journal
No surprises here--Democratic and Republican Members of Congress are sharply divided on which party will lose the most if an agreement on raising the debt ceiling is not reached by the August 2 deadline, according to this week's National Journal Congressional Insiders Poll. Read more

Obama Flexes Fundraising Muscles
By Alexis Simendinger, RealClearPolitics.com
President Obama's early campaign haul of more than $86 million, including $38 million to be shared with the Democratic National Committee, should send a few chills through the ranks of Republican presidential rivals, whose campaigns combined have barely come close to matching the dollars Obama has raised just for the DNC, at least according to details released by campaigns to date. Read more

Posted: Thu, 07/14/2011 - 12:00am