If there is any silver lining, it's the revelation for all to see that one political party will capitulate for the good of the country, and one won't. For those biblically inclined it should remind them of the judgment of Solomon. Everyone knows the Old Testament tale of the wise king who determined the truth by testing a mother's love.
When two women sought to claim the same infant son as their own, Solomon called for cleaving the baby in two so each could have half. The true mother objected, relinquishing the son rather than have him killed, while the imposter accepted the verdict. Solomon gave the child to his real mother, whose instincts were to protect her son.
The parallels to the debt ceiling deal are obvious. Democrats were unwilling to sacrifice the country in furtherance of their balanced approach to deficit reduction. Their instincts to protect America were too strong and they gave in, just as in 2008 when Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, then House speaker, put partisanship aside to pass President George W. Bush's $700 billion bank bailout, averting collapse of the credit markets.
All this legislative chaos will engender more economic pain. But that is catnip for congressional Republicans, who, as their Senate leader Mitch Mc-Connell of Kentucky has admitted, count denying President Barack Obama a second term as a top priority. They seem to believe that America's economic problems — even those they exacerbate — will inure to their electoral favor.
The question for voters: What would Solomon do?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-09/obama-shows-his-gambling-streak-in-debt-ceiling-deal-ron-klain.html
