POWIP Piece of Work In Progress – Former Abode of Dan Collins

Did Obama Just Take Ownership of the Debt Ceiling Debacle?

If WaPo's ersatz "conservative" Jen Rubin's reportage is correct then it would appear he indeed has:

A Republican aide e-mails me: “The Speaker, Sen. Reid and Sen. McConnell all agreed on the general framework of a two-part plan. A short-term increase (with cuts greater than the increase), combined with a committee to find long-term savings before the rest of the increase would be considered. Sen. Reid took the bipartisan plan to the White House and the President said no.”

If this is accurate the president is playing with fire. By halting a bipartisan deal he imperils the country’s finances and can rightly be accused of putting partisanship above all else. The ONLY reason to reject a short-term, two-step deal embraced by both the House and Senate is to avoid another approval-killing face-off for President Obama before the election. Next to pulling troops out of Afghanistan to fit the election calendar, this is the most irresponsible and shameful move of his presidency.
[emphasis-ed]

I personally am not as surprised as Ms. Rubin by the President's behavior, because for all his palavering on about a willingness to be satisfied with being a good one-termer who accomplished some of what he wanted than with playing politics in the interest of being re-elected, in my humble opinion every act he's made, decision he's taken, and word he's spoken has always been about holding on to power as long as possible.

Now as this is the only place I've seen this so far, it's hard to tell if it has legs, will be buried by other developments later today, or will simply be embargoed by Obama's campaign arm in the fourth estate.  We'll have to see.

But if it does get more widespread circulation, then it will pose a serious problem, politically, for the self-professed MOST POST-PARTISAN PRESIDENT, EVAR!, since it will at once put the lie to that grand meme as well as some other longstanding facets of the narrative construct that is Barack Obama, such as his Brilliance!, Judgment, and Superior Temperament!

Additionally it may drive a wedge between Congressional Democrats and The Won on this particular issue.  Many of them have run for years on platforms promising fiscal responsibility and balancing our national budget, and they can read the polls showing that the American people prefer to do something about the budget at this juncture; and by "doing something" don't mean raise taxes.

Congressional Democrats have a decision to make.  Do they essentially tie their 2012 electoral fortunes to Mr. Obama by backing his play on this issue, and allow GOP challengers to continually point out their disingenuousness on this matter as being indicative of their candor as a whole and specifically seriousness to rein in DC spending, or do they live up to their promises, pass the bill, and send it to the President for signature or veto.  I say call his bluff, because he doesn't dare throw all of Congress under the bus on this, and overtly take ownership of the issue.

Of course, those of us who pay attention have been aware of his ownership of the debt for sometime; it doesn't take a rocket-scientist to see the slope on this graph and understand who's exploded the US national debt faster that any other President in history.

What do you think, kind reader?

[UPDATE]: Byron York at The Washington Examiner corroborates Rubin's source's story.

And Juice-Box Mafiosi Ezra Klein laments that, "The Republicans have won!", and searches for a silver lining for the Democrats while presenting a time line that will convince the "Fightin' Nutroots" that their pols didn't go down without a fight.

[Cross posted at The Conservatory]

Rocketman