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Jay Carney On How President Obama Will Handle Doomsday Debt Ceiling Threat In Second Term

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by Tommy Christopher | 6:12 pm, August 1st, 2011

» 36 comments

Assuming Congress passes the “less than satisfying” (in much the same way that Habanero Eyedrops are less than soothing) debt ceiling measure that puts an end to the Tea Party-invented default crisis, this week will mark the Dawn of Doomsday Politics™, an era in which all bets are off, and the immolation of our way of life has become a political bargaining chip. At Monday’s White House briefing, I asked Press Secretary Jay Carney why the President even allowed this conversation to happen in the first place, and how he might deal with the default threat when it comes up again, in his second term.

The President has called, all along, for a balanced approach to debt and deficit reduction that includes revenue increases from wealthy individuals and corporations, but the so-called compromise contains no revenue enhancements. It does create a “Super Congress” (we’re gonna need a bigger phone booth) that will be charged with achieving further deficit reduction, and the theory is that their plan will contain revenue. If Congress fails to pass the “Super Congress” legislation (which will not be subject to amendments or filibuster), deep across-the-board ($1.2 trillion, half in defense, half non-defense) will kick in, which the White House believes gives both sides a powerful incentive to reach a deal. For the time being, though, the 72% of Americans who wanted revenue to be part of the deal have won “the check’s in the mail.”

The President got a deal that ensures that the debt ceiling won’t be held hostage again until after the 2012 election (although it does give the GOP two chances to vote against it after they voted for it, a weird inversion of the John Kerry equation), and gets to take credit for ending a crisis that never needed to exist.

Carney called the measure a “victory for the American people,” mainly because a catastrophic default was avoided. He didn’t mention it, but the measure also doesn’t give Republicans the right of primae noctis, so there’s that, too. (We should still check the fine print on that one.)

Since this crisis began, I have wondered why, if the consequences of a default are so catastrophic, did President Obama even entertain the notion of allowing such a threat to be used as leverage in a policy fight. I mean, the President has the nuclear codes, but would the people (or the press) ever let him get away with using the nuclear football as leverage to score, say, a public option for health insurance?

The threat of Doomsday Politics is not over, even if Congress passes the compromise, and even if the Super Congress can overcome Tea Party kryptonite. There will need to be another debt ceiling increase in 2013, and who knows what it will cost us then? I asked Jay Carney why the President didn’t just heed the WOPR and refuse to play, and whether he might take that approach the next time this comes up.

Transcript (via email from The White House):

Tommy Christopher: First of all, throughout this process, you and everybody sane pretty much has agreed that the threat of a default was a catastrophic one. So I’m wondering why the response from the outset wasn’t, well, we can talk about what you want after you put the pin the back in the grenade. And what are the chances that that’s how the President will respond when this comes up in his second term?

MR. CARNEY: I like the phrasing. (Laughter.) And I like the notion — the confidence that we’ll be discussing this in early 2013. I honestly haven’t lifted my sights to the horizon there to anticipate what that discussion or what that debate will look like. Clearly, as all of you have noted in your pieces, this debate will continue about the broader issues between Democrats and Republicans and the President and his opponent, when there is one. There’s no question that debate will continue, and the President looks forward to that debate as we move towards next year’s election.

What was important is that this action be taken and that Congress acts today and tomorrow to ensure that we do the right thing by our economy and by the American people. The political debate around this will obviously rage on next year and beyond, and that’s the nature of our politics.

Tommy Christopher: But, I mean, why even let that political issue get tied to a doomsday thing like the debt ceiling? Why not just say we’re not going to talk about that?

MR. CARNEY: Well, we obviously — I don’t — the reality is that statutorily Congress had to — has to act to raise the debt ceiling. You’re correct that in the past, while it has sometimes been an unpleasant vote for members of Congress, it was not used in this way — and we found that unfortunate. But that was the reality that we face. And through this process we were able to accomplish some important goals, including extending the debt ceiling through 2012, but also achieving the kind of upfront deficit reduction we believe is significant in a way that’s balanced between defense and non-defense discretionary spending and create a mechanism that allows hopefully for the enactment of further balanced deficit reduction through entitlement reform and tax reform.

I confess, I phrased the question that way in part to aggravate my friends on the right, but also to try and get Carney (and maybe the Boss, if he’s listening) to really visualize what the next debt ceiling crime scene will look like, based on this precedent. It’s also worth noting that the only way there will be another debt ceiling fight is if Barack Obama is reelected. It’s almost worth putting a Republican in the White House just to hear the Ricochet Rabbit sound effect that will attend the Congressional GOP’s desertion of the debt ceiling issue if President Bachmann asks for an increase.

The fact is, the Democrats wouldn’t turn around and do the same thing that the Republicans did, and hold the economy hostage to defeat a Republican president, and while that’s probably what many liberals hate about the Democrats, they should also be a little bit glad. Dog Day Afternoon was a good movie, but a terrible model for government.

barack obama, Debt Ceiling, debt crisis, Jay Carney, kryptonite, Public Option, supercommittee, Tea Party

Michelle

He won’t get the chance. He’ll be on a golf course with Tony Rezko and Rev. Wright.
Anonymous

cheerleader, cheerleader, get tommy some pom-poms
Anonymous

Obama is cooked . Even sneering press ferret Jay Carney knows it .

“There comes a time and a point in history which indelibly define a President. Oftentimes the event may not be of major import in the greater scheme of things but the management of it is of such prominence that the success or failure in the handling of the issue is permanently attached to the individual. Such a moment has happened to Barack Obama. His incompetence, inability to lead, prevarications, petulance and immaturity in the debt ceiling crisis have indelibly created an image of abject failure in the minds of a critical mass of people in the United States and around the globe. He will never be able to overcome the portrait that has been etched in too many minds.
Barack Obama’s only interest in the debt ceiling debate was to raise the borrowing limit sufficiently to get by the next election, and as a cudgel to denigrate the Republicans”

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/08/obamas_failed_presidency.html
http://impossibledreamsmedia.com Chris Jones

He won’t get a second term.
Anonymous

An Obama second term would be Doomsday.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_B5344MYI6BXUL36ADKK3JBTPJA GJPinks

Second Term? Biggest laugh of the day. Even better than Nora being upset that she doesn’t have to pay mor taxes.
Anonymous

At the risk of sounding cynical, Tommy, did you ever wonder if in fact this is partly what the administration wants? The Democratic base lost the eye of the tiger, so to speak, when President Obama was elected. The conservatives gathered their anger and rallied their base around the Tea Party, resulting in them winning the House. Now, with a majority of Americans wanting a compromise, the Tea Party held the debt ceiling hostage to force through a deal absent the mix of cuts AND tax increases most Americans support. The GOP had thier boogeyman, in Obama, to rally their base in the 2010 elections. Now the Dems have their boogyman in the Tea Party. A big part of the national conversation, come next election, will be the Tea Party, their pledge to not raise taxes, and refusal to compromise. Why would the White House not want this to be an issue going into an election?
Rusty Shackleford

You should’ve offered Carney and your “Boss” a handjob to soothe away the doomsday pain
Anonymous

man and i thought i was a cynic, you are just as bad as me censure lol
Anonymous

Tommy, you continue to live in an alternate universe that you’ve created for apparently yourself, only. Democrats are the nastiest bunch around and you make it sound as if they’re just too darned nice. How many times have tea party people been called “terrorists” in the last week? How many “loaded gun”, “blowing their brains out” “kidnapping”, “hostage taking” analogies have we heard in the last couple weeks.

I know you’re frustrated. It must suck to realize that the guy you’ve invested so much time & effort in (Obama) is nothing more than a guy living in a big house. He’s a failed President and it’s of his own making. He wasn’t up for the job, and his on-the-job training has failed. Get over it.
Anonymous

Tommy, you continue to live in an alternate universe that you’ve created for apparently yourself, only. Democrats are the nastiest bunch around and you make it sound as if they’re just too darned nice. How many times have tea party people been called “terrorists” in the last week? How many “loaded gun”, “blowing their brains out” “kidnapping”, “hostage taking” analogies have we heard in the last couple weeks.

I know you’re frustrated. It must suck to realize that the guy you’ve invested so much time & effort in (Obama) is nothing more than a guy living in a big house. He’s a failed President and it’s of his own making. He wasn’t up for the job, and his on-the-job training has failed. Get over it.
Anonymous

You didn’t know this? Lol.
jayamerican1

Because Obama is not that smart or saavy a politician. He has proven time and again that he is in over his head. And by the way, I think calling abama a boogyman has hidden racial overtones. Let’s see if Tommy picks that up..he is so good at hearing dog whistles.
Anonymous

Perhaps there will be enough cuts in spending after the Tea-Party takes both house of Congress in 2012 that President Perry won’t need to raise the debt ceiling.
http://www.facebook.com/bruce.kennedy3 Bruce Kennedy

You can continue this conversation after Obama has been re-elected for a second term.
Anonymous

Neither I, nor Cjdohio1, said anything about race. Yet here you are inserting it into our conversation. For what? So you can make a point that Tommy sees the insertion of race in issues where it doesn’t exist? You’re your own worst enemy. Stop posting.
forcerecon

Second term? Does Carney know something the rest of us informed people do not? Watching what Obama/Biden have done to this country is like watching a very bad re-make of Dumb and Dumber. I have a simple questions….can we really afford 4 more years of Obama?
forcerecon

Ain’t gonna happen cap’n.
realheadline

Second term? You mean his second term as a community organizer-in-chief / subversive
RDD

http://youtu.be/ZvUIsbksNEo
MSM: ‘Satan Sandwich’ v. Real Econ.
The media has been all over the “sugar-coated Satan Sandwich”. Who
cares!? What they should be talking about instead of sandwiches and
Grover Norquist tweets, is the way the debt deal will change America.
We’ll take a look and then tell you about a new poll from the Hill that
finds one third of likely voters think America’s best days are over.
Anonymous

What’s wrong with this guy Carney. I’m sure he’s a likeable guy, but he just keeps getting worse and worse at his job. Tommy, have you been coaching him…lol. Just kidding Tommy, I have to admit I phased the question just to aggravate you…lol
jayamerican1

That is exactly the point.Anyone not a liberal is accused of being a racist if they express any disagreement with Obama. You are just too ignorant to recognize the sarcasm and absurdity of the accusations both liberal posters and liberal columnists make. I’ll stop posting when you catch on…which means I will have an awful lot of writing to do.
Anonymous

You have missed the point. Not once was race mentioned in the conversation between CJD and I. You joined our conversation and you introduced the topic of race. The absurdity of the whole thing is that even though you went out of your way to introduce race into the conversation, at the same time you try to call others out for making things about race.
Anonymous

BTW you may have noticed that Cjd isn’t exactly the biggest Obama fan. Yet it is funny how he and I have civil conversations. I’ll let you in on the reason why. He’s not a jackass! So you just keep telling yourself that I’m picking on you because you disagree with Obama, all you like. As long as you feel better about yourself, right? The rest of us know the truth.
jayamerican1

I am very sorry. I went back and reread to get a better perspectrive. I realize that you spent a lot of time and deep thought coming up with that hypothesis and you were very eloquent and serious in laying it out. It’s just the first time I read it I was laughing so hard at the riduculousness of Obama actually planning this and it actually working out that I missed your seriouness and didn’t realize you were auditioning for a job in the White House press corp or a summer intern job working with Tommy.
Resident of 0bomberVille

Must Carney ALWAYS have that “I just sucked on a really scabby dick” look on his face?

Yea, I guess he must.
jayamerican1

I am terribly hurt that you and I will never share that closeness and quite jeolous of Cjd. I think I have finally come to realize that I need help and will be checking into jackass rehab. I hope when I complete my therapy maybe I can earn your approval.
jayamerican1

I am terribly hurt that you and I will never share that closeness and quite jeolous of Cjd. I think I have finally come to realize that I need help and will be checking into jackass rehab. I hope when I complete my therapy maybe I can earn your approval.
Anonymous

President “The Great Divider” Obama and Jay Carney will not have to worry a second term…they won’t be there.

As a matter of fact, they only have 462 days left before they get their pink slips.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NUT75XKRMJZ2QZJUUWOYH7Y7TA Cincy

Boo-Yah!!!!!
JohnJGuy

There really is an almighty amount of bitterness towards Obama. Lets hope the Tea Party saviors supervise the Republican bidding all year round and show the US public how to run a domestic and global economy?!?
Lurch

yo baggers, not only will the prez be in office until 2017, but thanks to your bagger stupidity, the american public will remember your stupidity next election. the dems will thank the baggers for waking up the sleeping liberal giant, and take back both houses in dc….. then they will shove down your bagger ass, a socialist agenda that will make you bagger wonder white inbred losers head explode…. like the impotent obese farts you are, you shot your load too fast…. but that aint new to you baggers, ask your fat wife…

everything stinks more in sub- sahara dried up texass…..
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NWVKX2P2QBPQ6FHQHCHVIC2ALQ Fedup in Florida

LOL Tommy you’re so funny.. Obama’s second term…..
Anonymous

Second term, my ass! Only mentally challenged or total idiots would vote for this Fool for a second term. America cannot handle another four years of this AntiAmericans AntiConstitutional Agenda. If he does get a second term, it will be time for Patriots to take our Country back by force if need be. Since the military knows Obama hates them, they will not back this Fool. Keep your Powder Dry and your Weapons Clean!
RDD

http://www.alternet.org/vision/151850/8_reasons_young_americans_don%27t_fight_back%3A_how_the_us_crushed_youth_resistance/
8 Reasons Young Americans Don’t Fight Back: How the US Crushed Youth Resistance
http://moneywatch.bnet.com/saving-money/news/6-ways-the-debt-deal-could-hurt-college-students/6271271/
6 ways the debt deal could hurt college students
Read more: http://moneywatch.bnet.com/saving-money/news/6-ways-the-debt-deal-could-hurt-college-students/6271271/#ixzz1U0ER1nv0
Anonymous

Can this charade possibly work more than twice? If so then boy people are dumb.