Follow the Leader: On Debt Talks, That’s Congress

“The President proposes and Congress disposes.” It’s an old adage and usually an accurate one. It also reflects, in the budget debate, a longstanding tenet of conventional wisdom – that the president must lead or nothing significant will occur. It’s a belief that crosses party lines. “I think if you’re the executive, you’ve got to …

GOP Candidates’ Free Pass From the Media

I don’t know what’s more pathetic – Republican presidential candidates who urge a GOP nocompromise stance in White House-congressional budget negotiations related to the debt limit, or media that doesn’t explore the implications. The New York Times reported over the weekend that “Republican presidential candidates were campaigning against any outcome that smacks of compromise, underscoring …