See You Next January

The markets are relieved, naturally. The autumn rally is now allowed to continue. The totally unnecessary threat brought on by the phony default issue has been taken off the table — admittedly only temporarily. But the problem has not been solved. There were only losers in that recent strength test; America will find itself in the same situation again three months from now. The budget extension is only valid to mid-January and the debt ceiling issue reappears shortly thereafter. And then? It’s 2014 and the midterm congressional election. Does anyone think the two squabbling camps will be any more prone to compromise then than they were this week?

That’s why President Obama must also be counted as a loser. At first glance he may look like a winner. In the end, he managed to get what he wanted — a new budget and a higher debt ceiling — without having to pay the price Republicans had demanded: abandoning health care reform. But the three-month delay doesn’t help him very much. In fact, the delay threatens his chances of success even more. The first year of his second term will pass without the reforms America so desperately needs — immigration reform, Social Security reform, a new energy policy. If Obama doesn’t succeed in getting the power to reshape policy, he will be seen in the end as a weak president.

The Tea Party’s Reputation Suffers

The biggest losers are definitely the Republicans, mainly their tea-party wing. They paid for their obstruction with a dramatic loss of face. But have they learned anything from their loss? Early reactions from the right sound neither introspective nor remorseful. On the contrary, they now seem defiant and bent on revenge.

All in all, it’s a sad picture: The national leadership comes off as having been weakened by the PRISM scandal, the Syrian situation and their financial problems. One wants to scold the Americans as Thilo Sarrazin did the Germans in his book, “Germany Is Doing Away with Itself.” Both Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. are behaving recklessly. The Republicans demonstrate no respect for law and order. The health care reform is, after all, now the law of the land and the GOP is misusing the budget debate for purposes of blackmail. Across the aisle, Democrats are bent on additional spending and accumulating more and more debt. What’s needed is a budget overhaul. The United States isn’t the only player that will be taking the rap for this. Other nations are caught in the backwash. A strong and responsible superpower is urgently needed to pacify the Middle East, to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons and to use America’s ingenuity and economic potential for a sustained economic recovery.

John Boehner Won’t Let Himself Be Used Again To Obstruct Future Solutions

There is one way the losers of the past few days might yet emerge as winners, along with the rest of the world. The president and the leaders of both American political parties could use the coming three months to earnestly find ways to achieve a budget overhaul and reduce debt. Speaker Boehner has promised to open the results of the negotiations to a floor vote and won’t be forced into obstruction by the right. There is a broad majority of moderate senators and representatives ready for compromise. Now it is up to the leadership to allow them to vote for their consciences and fulfill their responsibilities. Following this example might also allow for further reforms — but based on the experiences of the last three years, that scenario may be beyond hope.