Debt deal could boost Obama in 2012 [View All]

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Debt deal could boost Obama in 2012

For crafting a complex last minute resolution to a crisis solely of its own making, no one in Washington should really feel good about the debt deal. While some on the right and many on the left are not happy with the deal, even President Obama and the congressional leaders he negotiated with have said it's not the perfect bill. But there's a possible silver lining in this debacle for the White House and Democrats.

Here's why: while it may look to many in his party as a raw deal, Mr. Obama succeeded in showing leadership in the end by brokering any deal to solve the crisis, showed he was willing to compromise and take less than he wanted, and showed he was serious about tackling the looming debt crisis facing the country.

With a trillion dollars in cuts to federal spending, and more on the way, all sides succeeded in showing they weren't initially just kicking the can down the road, or whistling past the graveyard, though everyone also acknowledges that there still has to be some serious conversations about government spending and priorities in the years to come - and the establishment of a congressional super committee could begin to do just that.

But here you have a Democratic president, who's been painted a free-spending liberal, taking credit for what is the largest cut in federal spending in history. "The first part of this agreement will cut about $1 trillion in spending over the next 10 years.... The result would be the lowest level of annual domestic spending since Dwight Eisenhower was president -- but at a level that still allows us to make job-creating investments in things like education and research," he said.

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http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20086290-503544.html