chances of tackling the debt this year

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Hope springs eternal

With the report of Obama’s debt and deficit Commission last winter, a few people showed some signs of seriously tackling the debt problem. Now a “Gang of six” has undertaken to present a real proposal on fiscal matters. It is led by Sens. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, and Saxby Chambliss, a Georgia Republican. In addition to Chambliss and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who are personal friends of House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), the Gang of Six includes Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), a close adviser to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.); Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee; and Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate and a close Obama ally. Warner is the former governor who famously balanced the Virginia budget. That description (from the Washington Post) suggests that the people who can pull off a deal are all well represented here.

So get that football up there, Lucy, and let’s have one more run at it.

PS Two days after this was written 64 senators sent Obama a letter on this matter.
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