I really need to get out the door but.. this is a decent read..

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/04/opinion/brooks-the-truly-grand-bargain.html?_r=1&

Both Boehner as well as Obama were re-elected.. basically the elections showed NO CHANGE.. SAME AS BEFORE..  So both will have to compromise.. obviously I am pushing for my side to hold ground.

So Republicans have to realize that they are going to cave on tax rates. The only question is what they get in return. What they should demand is this: That the year 2013 will be spent putting together a pro-growth tax and entitlement reform package that will put this country on a sound financial footing through 2040.

I don't concede the debt ceiling.. in fact I support Boehner saying.. "If the Senate is going Nuclear.. the the House is ONLY going to consider R legislation.. and then they run the country.. CHOPPING OBAMA Care to pay for things as we go along...

This is a big political concession, but it’s not much of an economic one. President Obama needs rate increases to show the liberals he has won a “victory,” but the fact is that raising revenue by raising rates is not that much worse for the economy than raising revenue by closing loopholes, which Republicans have already conceded.

In return, Republicans should also ask for some medium-size entitlement cuts as part of the fiscal cliff down payment. These could fit within the framework Speaker John Boehner sketched out Monday afternoon: chaining Social Security cost-of-living increases to price inflation and increasing the Medicare Part B premium to 35 percent of costs.

But the big demand would be this: That on March 15, 2013, both parties would introduce leader-endorsed tax and entitlement reform bills in Congress that would bring the debt down to 60 percent of G.D.P. by 2024 and 40 percent by 2037, as scored by the Congressional Budget Office. Those bills would work their way through the normal legislative process, as the Constitution intended. If a Grand Bargain is not reached by Dec. 15, 2013, then there would be automatic defense and entitlement cuts and automatic tax increases.

Both parties say they are earnest about fundamental tax and entitlement reform. This deal would force them to think beyond the 10-year budget window and put credible plans on the table to address the long-term budget problems while there is still time. No more waiting for the other guy to go public with something serious. The ensuing debate would force voters to face the elemental truth — that they can only have a government as big as they are willing to pay for. It would force elected officials to find a long-term pro-growth solution as big as Simpson-Bowles.

Republicans could say to the country: Hey, we don’t like raising tax rates. But we understand that when a nation is running a $16 trillion debt that is exploding year by year, everybody has to be willing to make compromises and sacrifices. We understand that the big thing holding the country back is that the political system doesn’t function. We want to tackle big things right now.

.. hmm.. okay whatever Brooks.

I guess I don't believe the White House "gets it" and if we followed their path.. then it's Kool-Aid time.. So personally I believe Boehner is in a STRONG position.. and the right one for the Country.

You can't TAX your way out of the Weimar Republic.. history shows that.. and John Burns is correct there..  YOU MUST CUT SPENDING.. things like Obama care.. while the Fed keeps a fire hose on things...

jmho.. "could be wrong."

So in short if Obama wins.. and Pelosi and Reid are turned loose.. then yes John Burns is correct..  W Bush had the deficit down to $170 BEFORE Speaker Pelosi took us to the brink..

"Kool-Aid anyone?"