Saturday, August 13, 2011

Politico spins and squirms, gives Dems a good headline

How many errors can you spot in the following:

S&P: Debt default skeptics fueled ratings downgrade</b>

Politico said:
A Standard & Poor’s director said for the first time Thursday that one reason the United States lost its triple-A credit rating was that several lawmakers expressed skepticism about the serious consequences of a credit default —a position put forth by some Republicans.

Without specifically mentioning Republicans, S&P senior director Joydeep Mukherji said the stability and effectiveness of American political institutions were undermined by the fact that “people in the political arena were even talking about a potential default,” Mukherji said.

“That a country even has such voices, albeit a minority, is something notable,” he added. “This kind of rhetoric is not common amongst AAA sovereigns.”

The statement seems likely to bolster one Democratic line of attack, that it was tea party intransigence — not a shortcoming of leadership by President Barack Obama — that is to blame for the U.S. downgrade, from AAA to AA+. Obama himself called on Republicans to “put country ahead of party” Thursday — a dig at conservatives in Congress who are blocking his agenda.

[emphisis mine]

Who was it saying a that if the Republicans wouldn't "compromise" with Obama we risked default? That Grandma's social security check might not get sent our? And then, who was it that reminded the country that current taxes will pay for the current debt so there was no risk of default?


Politico said:
“What S&P wanted to see from the deal was a stabilization in the debt-to-GDP ratio over time,” he said. “We wanted to see something other than a line that kept going up. That’s what we didn’t see.”


Who is it that has spent so much over the last two and half years and is spending more and more that we can't hope to have a "stabilization in the debt-to-GDP ratio?"

Prepare for a tidal wave of this kind of reporting straight from the Democratic Party HQ as the 2012 campaign gears up.

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