I do share Rolands quibble that by this summer it was no longer possible to do that in time to avoid a choice between raising the debt ceiling or shutting down the federal government for a year, but in the final analysis that goes back to Isaacs point that Obama could've submitted and passed a budget last year that cut spending, raised taxes and avoided the need to raise the debt ceiling. Imagine how his poll numbers would look now if he'd balanced the budget a year ago. Hint: When Gingrich forced Clinton to do it in 1995 it was the high point of both their careers, helped extend the economic boom another ten years and left a trillion dollar surplus in the Social Security trust fund when Bush was inaugurated. Yeah, Bush screwed the economy up royally with his insane idea that massive tax cuts were a good way for a nation already heavily in debt to start wars in two countries, but the fact is Bush has been out of office for over two years now; it's past time Obama did something to correct Bushs known and glaring errors (like he promised) instead of perpetuating them.