Where Are They Now?

You'll have to bear with me. There is a lot to analyze with the whole debt limit situation, so I have a lot to write. I think the bipartisan commission is an important component. I want to start with a quote from a NY Times article.

In his budget proposal in January, Mr. Obama declined to suggest a plan along the lines proposed by a majority of his bipartisan fiscal commission, which in December recommended $4 trillion in savings over 10 years through cuts in military and domestic programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, and a tax code overhaul to lower rates while also raising more revenue.

Even though Mr. Obama was widely criticized, administration officials said at the time that to have embraced that approach then would have put him too far to the right — where he ultimately wanted to end up in any compromise with Republicans, not where he wanted to start.

I understand his sentiment, but then why did he suggest a bipartisan commission? He should have known it would have put in the middle - where he wanted to end up, not where he wanted to start.

It just doesn't make any sense and suggests he didn't think it through all the way. If you are going to call a bipartisan commission, you do so because you are going to support what they put forward. If he really thought it, he should have put forward his own plan - to the left - then let Republicans put out their plan (which they did in the Paul Ryan plan), then called for a bipartisan commission to bridge the gap.

I just can't get past the thought that Obama is in way over his head.

And this isn't small potatoes. We are in a situation now where we have a bad short term solution to a long term problem. And I think we have no hope of getting to the middle ground of the bipartisan commission now. There will be no compromise.