Phew! That was exciting. It had me on the edge of my seat. But what a setup for Act Two. Given the plot so far, this is going to be a bumpy ride. This is a situation in which everyone is behaving badly. Consider John Boehner, chief Republican negotiator. During the entire drama, he regularly complained that the president wasn’t giving enough. Then when the deal was done, he boasted that he got 98 percent of what he wanted. When Obama addressed the nation to report that a calamity had been avoided, he felt it necessary to assure his disappointed supporters that, even though he had given up so much, they would have another bite of the apple when the Special Joint Committee meets during the next several months because tax revenues will be on the negotiating table along with additional spending cuts. Suckered again! Boehner and associates made it clear that that is not going to happen.
It’s a drama worthy of a Broadway play. At a time of growing economic distress worldwide, the greatest economic power in the world has just undergone an epic battle between two ideologies. For months the two groups of supporters battled it out for control of the levers of power, each claiming to hold the key to success while the other points the way to disaster. Finally, one group has won the three-dimensional chess game called politics, and the stage is now set for Act Two. . The Republicans have taken over, leaving the Democrats to lick their wounds. When disaster follows, as it surely will, the unfortunate conclusion may well be that the Democrats were right, when in fact time has finally run out on the concept of capitalism itself, no matter the variety.
Roberta Flack sings “Compared to What” by Eugene McDaniels