I take it Obama didn't go with the Constitutional option

[Enrique]

I heard someone speculate that he would use this address to invoke the 14th Amendment. I want whatever that person was smoking.

[sharp_stick]

1. Even if he was to use that

it wouldn't be mentioned until he actually pulled the trigger on it.

[elocs]

2. If he were to invoke the 14th why would he tip his hand ahead of time?

:shrug:

[Warren Stupidity]

6. to bring the loons into the bin?

[CakeGrrl]

3. Is it August 2 yet? That was the deadline to produce a deal.

After that date with no progress, I expect they'll go to their Plan B, which they would understandably not disclose to the GOP in advance.

[woolldog]

4. I'm so annoyed with this focus on debt and deficit

in the middle of recession/low growth envirnment. David Plouffe on CNN begging the repubs to give in "just a little bit".

"president is looking forwrd to working with Congress on entitlement reform next". Oh boy!

[Warren Stupidity]

5. no hardball allowed on this field

[Rochester]

7. If he does it now, then...

...the R's would no longer have anything to lose with their bullshit grandstanding, knowing that an undesirable (to them) outcome is inevitable so they might as well scream and howl and portray themselves as the victims (their three best skills.) I think Obama would prefer the normal route, through Congress. He can, if necessary, pull the 14th out of his back pocket any time he wants, even on the very last day. The R's know this, and so the pressure is on them to offer concessions. They know that if they can't come up with something acceptable to the D's, Obama will simply play his ace on August 2 and he will be the hero who singlehandedly saved the country from the brink of default, not the villain who made a power grab from Congress that the R's so desperately want to make him out to be.