Rep. John Boehner & Sen. Harry Reid Release Largely Incompatible Debt Plans that Will Go Nowhere in Congress, Back to Square One with Aug. 2nd Deadline Looming

House Speaker Rep. John Boehner & Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid release dueling debt plans, with the White House backing Reid's plan but President Obama seems to have failed to lead.

Rep. John Boehner and Sen. Harry Reid's competing debt plans couldn't be further from each other.Well, they have one thing in common, no tax increases, but they are completely incompatible and neither one stands a chance of making it to President Obama's desk, so we will be back to the same place -- no debt plan -- as the time winds down. Surprise, surprise, guess which plan the White House backs? Harry Reid's. Well, President Obama will address the nation tonight but his speech is coming a little too late. Our enemies are watching us with glee and our friends are nervously watching how the hot mess is unfolding on a daily basis. Sorry President Obama, but you have failed to lead and for whatever reason, you haven't used your power as a presidency as you could have. He needs to study President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who succeeded in the face of adversity. It should be noted that former president Ronald Reagan raised the debt ceiling 18 times and the Republicans of today are either hypocrites or think the American people are stupid.

John Boehner was first to release his plan. Here's Ezra Klein's summary:

• Cuts that exceed the debt hike. The framework would cut and cap discretionary spending immediately, saving $1.2 trillion over 10 years (subject to CBO confirmation), and raise the debt ceiling by less – up to $1 trillion.
• Caps to control future spending. The framework imposes spending caps that would establish clear limits on future spending and serve as a barrier against government expansion while the economy grows. Failure to remain below these caps will trigger automatic across-the-board cuts (otherwise known as sequestration).
• Balanced Budget Amendment. The framework advances the cause of the Balanced Budget Amendment by requiring the House and Senate to vote on the measure after Oct. 1, but before the end of the year, allowing the American people time to build sufficient support for this popular reform.
• Entitlement Reforms & Savings. The framework creates a Joint Committee of Congress that is required to report legislation that would produce a proposal to reduce the deficit by at least $1.8 trillion over 10 years. Each chamber would consider the proposal of the joint committee on an up-or-down basis without any amendments. If the proposal is enacted, then the president would be authorized to request a debt limit increase of $1.6 trillion.

Senator Reid's plan, which the White House is backing, (may or may not be a good thing) has purportedly larger cuts and only requires one increase in the debt ceiling:

• $1.2 Trillion in Discretionary Spending Cuts. The $1.2 trillion in discretionary spending cuts include both defense and non-defense spending. Before Speaker Boehner broke off talks with the White House on Friday, he had already agreed to $1.2 trillion in discretionary spending cuts.
• $100 Billion in Mandatory Savings. The proposal includes $100 billion in mandatory savings that were negotiated by Democrats and Republicans participating in the negotiations led by Vice President Biden. These savings will not impact Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits in any way.
• $1 Trillion in Savings From Winding Down the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will save $1 trillion. Paul Ryan’s budget also included this savings in its deficit reduction calculation, which was supported by 235 House Republicans and 40 Senate Republicans.
• $400 Billion in Interest Savings. The package includes $400 billion in interest savings, $220 billion from the discretionary spending cuts and $180 billion from winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Both the Ryan budget and the House Cut, Cap and Balance plan similarly included interest savings in their total calculation.
• Establishes Joint Congressional Committee to Find Future Savings. In addition to $2.7 trillion in concrete savings, the Senate package will establish a joint, bipartisan committee, made up of 12 members, to present options for future deficit reduction. The committee’s recommendations will be guaranteed an up-or-down Senate vote, without amendments, by the end of 2011.

Once these bills make it through Congress and the Senate, we will be back to square one, as there will be no common ground and no agreement. These politicians are squabbling like fishmongers over who gets to set up shop in which stall at the fish market. To put it bluntly, this has been a wasted weekend and these two bills will not make it out of Congress, much less one making it to President Obama's desk. We will be in the same mess come Friday, with 72 hours to go before August 2nd. This is further proof that America's standing in the world as the moral compass is eroding fast.

I am not entirely sure why President Obama has a hard time communicating his empathy to American people in distress, as many on Main Street are. This elitist label is coming back to haunt him again. Don't get me wrong, I hate to throw him under a bus, but his predecessors have been in the hot seat for a myriad of reasons, so he's not above criticism. He keeps telling us that "recovery is around the corner" but we'll all get whiplash trying to look around that corner. He's either living in a bubble as he has articulated before, or he just doesn't get it because he an elitist. Above all, Obama has relied on the wrong people to help stem the bleeding. For example, he relied on the executive team at BP to spearhead the Gulf oil spill fallout. Um, you don't send the fox to guard the hen house. Similarly, he has relied on banks and bankers to fix the economic mess. Um, they started it with lax oversight and an appetite for easy and quick money, no matter what the consequences are. Do you honestly believe they want to fix this mess? Hell no!

Lastly, it is painfully obvious that President Obama's negotiation skills are horrible. Every time he interjects himself in a negotiation process, the results are abysmal. The change you can believe in mantra has worn thin and actually, has worn off.  Yes, President Obama has unfairly faced extreme and intransigent opposition, which some have attributed to the fact that he is black, but that's absolutely no excuse for such horrible poll numbers, which spell doom if he doesn't find a way to stop the bleeding. I believe President Obama is a honorable man who loves his country, but maybe he's a little in over his head and green around the ears with inexperience. It takes a bitch to be a politician in Washington D.C. and yes, he promised change, but unfortunately he doesn't know how to play the game. Sorry, I'm beginning to get buyer's remorse but I'll be darned if I will bring myself to look to a Republican presidential candidate to fix what ails this country.