Hindsight?

Save us from the madness! This is how the U.S. Senate’s pastor recently started his morning prayer. It appears that his appeal – and that of millions of U.S. citizens – will soon be answered. Yesterday, in the Senate, a compromise was in sight, only the House of Representatives must now come to an agreement. Why has it taken so long to get this far? And why are the representatives and president of this superpower still playing with fire so close to the U.S. debt limit? The answer, for Obama as well, is uncomfortable: After being regarded as a reconciling figure after the polarizing era of George W. Bush, he has failed to fill in the deep gaps in ideological understanding present in Washington.

One can even argue that because of him the divide between the political camps has been widened; he rarely shows a readiness to compromise. Instead, for a long time, he has refused to engage in negotiations with the Republicans – although he appears, for example, ready for talks with the regime in Tehran, who until recently has been known for referring to the U.S. as the “Great Satan.” Make of that what you will. He also finally benefited from the prolonging of a crisis in which both sides selfishly put their interests ahead of the welfare of the country. The tactics of the Republicans were particularly deceitful, bringing the healthcare reform law into the debate and tying to force a postponement or softening up of ‘Obamacare’ together with an end to the budget crisis. They did this even though they knew that the president and his faithful Democrats would not allow his legacy to be toppled.

So, why all the theatre? The U.S., which likes to pride itself on being the world’s best democracy, has made a laughing stock of itself with the tug-of-war over its national budget and its careless treatment of global financial markets. Even if it now looks like a deal will be cut by tomorrow after all, this should be no reason for Congress and the White House to beat its breast. But it would be a reason to breathe again, for both Europe and America.