News Nuggets 705

See the Up-Front Economy Nugget below.

*** On Yesterday's Call to Action ***
Heeding Obama, Voters Swamp Congress' Websites, Phones from McClatchy News Service
"President Barack Obama asked Americans to reach out to Congress to make their voices heard on the debt ceiling debate — and so they did."
Of course, I can't know how many of you heeded yesterdays "Call to Action".  For those of you who did, thank you.  You asserted a call for sanity at a crucial moment!!

UP-FRONT ECONOMY NUGGET!!
How the Deficit Got This Big from the New York Times
"With President Obama and Republican leaders calling for cutting the budget by trillions over the next 10 years, it is worth asking how we got here — from healthy surpluses at the end of the Clinton era, and the promise of future surpluses, to nine straight years of deficits, including the $1.3 trillion shortfall in 2010. The answer is largely the Bush-era tax cuts, war spending in Iraq and Afghanistan, and recessions."
James Fallows of the Atlantic comments HERE.

U.S. Officials Believe al-Qaeda on Brink of Collapse from the Washington Post
"Beyond bin Laden, “we have eliminated a number of generations of leaders,” said the senior U.S. counterterrorism official. “They have not had a successful operation in a long time. You at some point have to ask yourself, ‘What else do we have to do?’"

Jasmine Blooms in Marrakesh (Dov S. Zakheim) from the National Interest
"Reform has come quietly and peacefully to Morocco. Mubarak and Ben Ali should have followed King Mohammed's lead."

The End of the Road in Pakistan? (Malou Innocent) from the National Interest
"Pakistan will never be the ally Washington wants it to be. Ignoring that reality is nothing short of insanity."

Assad Foundations Eroded by Waves of Revolt (David Gardner) from the Financial Times [of the UK]
"... erosion is eating away at the narrow foundations of a regime pounded by waves of revolt. The savagery of the government’s response, and the zero credibility of the concessions it has made to the protesters, makes it probably more dangerous for them to stop, and risk reprisals, than to carry on and brave repression."

Some international reaction to the debt ceiling issue.  It's almost TOO PAINFUL to read.
The Nutters' Side of the Story (Phil Levy) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"The domestic incredulity over U.S. debt ceiling battles has gone global."

Here's the latest on the debt ceiling:
Debt-limit Bill Yanked by House GOP from Politico
"House Republicans delayed by at least a day a floor vote on their package to raise the debt ceiling, the latest challenge facing Speaker John Boehner and GOP leaders as they try to avoid a default on the nation’s debt."
GOOD!

Top House Conservatives Says Boehner Lacks Sufficient GOP Support To Raise Debt Limit from Talking Points Memo
"One of the most influential conservatives in Congress says he's confident his own Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) will lack the votes to pass his plan to raise the debt limit in the House of Representatives.  Complicating matters further for Boehner -- the Dems' top vote counter wryly suggested at a simultaneous press briefing that few, if any, Democrats will vote for the GOP's bill..."
He says "with confidence"?  Now, why would he say that?  God knows, I am no House of Representatives insider -- but what has transpired since last night reeks of double-dealing.  Publicly Rick Cantor is supporting Boehner -- but I wonder if he isn't giving Boehner a sword in the back behind the scenes.  If Boehner's plan can't pass the House AND the country goes into default, I wouldn't be surprised if Boehner is done as Speaker.

A related story (no surprise):
Boehner Risks Losing Leverage in House Deficit-Reduction Plan vote from The Hill
"Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is heading into a critical House vote on his deficit-reduction plan, at risk of losing significant leverage in the GOP’s drag-out fight with the White House over raising the $14.3 trillion debt limit."

Boehner's Debt Ceiling Plan Found Insufficient By Wall Street (Sam Stein) from the Huffington Post
"When CNN's Erin Burnett reported Monday evening that the raters at Standard & Poor's would not be satisfied with a plan that neither lifted the debt ceiling through the 2012 elections nor reformed entitlement programs, party leadership jumped on the news. If the sequence seemed a touch too political, it shouldn't have."

The Republican Wreckage from the Editorial Board of the New York Times
"House Republicans have lost sight of the country’s welfare. It’s hard to conclude anything else from their latest actions, including the House speaker’s dismissal of President Obama’s plea for compromise Monday night. They have largely succeeded in their campaign to ransom America’s economy for the biggest spending cuts in a generation. They have warped an exercise in paying off current debt into an argument about future spending. Yet, when they win another concession, they walk away."

Obama Fights Full-tilt Tea Party Crazy (Joan Walsh) from Salon
"Faced with John Boehner's lies about the debt-ceiling process, the president stakes his presidency on compromise."

Why Obama’s Base Won’t Revolt (Eric Alterman) from the Daily Beast
"Gay marriage, Israel, choice—talk is rife of a 2012 primary challenge to Obama from the left, but liberals’ support and fear of GOP extremism mean it won’t happen, says Eric Alterman."

Wu to Resign From Congress from the New York Times
"Representative David Wu, a Democrat from Oregon, said Tuesday that he will resign from Congress after allegations that he had had a sexual encounter with a young woman."
One thing I will have to say about Nancy Pelosi's management style, even as minority leader: she has a low threshold for this kind of BS.  Whether it's Wu or Anthony Wiener or whoever, unlike the GOP, her patience surrounding sexual improprieties inside her own caucus can be measured in nanoseconds.  Financial scandals (see Maxine Waters or Charlie Rangel) it may be a different story.  I guess in her view, there are going to be NO MARK FOLEYS on her watch!!

And, lo and behold, here's the story!!
Pelosi Boots Another Scoundrel ( Michelle Cottle) from the Daily Beast
"Anyone who thought David Wu could hang on despite sexual misbehavior hasn’t been paying attention to the House’s new scandal culture. Michelle Cottle on why Nancy Pelosi had to push him out."

ECONOMY NUGGET!!
The Help-Wanted Sign Comes With a Frustrating Asterisk from the New York Times
"The unemployed need not apply.  That is the message being broadcast by many of the nation’s employers, making it even more difficult for 14 million jobless Americans to get back to work."
Y'know, this is the kind of bulls#@t that turns average, hard-working Americans into VOLATILE, unpredictable and angry voters!  If you tilt the playing field THIS MUCH against the unemployed, there will be trouble -- and this is just one manifestation of a pervasive phenomenon!

MICHELLE OBAMA NUGGET!!
'I was like "Wow"': How Michelle Obama and Jill Biden Found Out About Top Secret Bin Laden Raid from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"The First Lady Michelle Obama said: 'I knew something was happening, but when it gets down to that level of secrecy, there's just a small number of people who know anything."