Please check the weather report for hell

Faced with anxiety in financial markets about the huge federal deficit and the potential for it to become an electoral liability for Democrats, the White House and Congressional leaders are weighing options for narrowing the gap, including a bipartisan commission that could force tax increases and spending cuts.

But even the idea of a panel to bridge the partisan divide has run into partisan objections. Many Democrats, including in the White House, are loath to cede such far-reaching decisions to a commission and doubt Republicans' willingness to compromise. And most Republicans remain adamantly opposed to tax increases, leaving the prospects for any bipartisan approach limited at best.

The proponents, however, are pressing for a Senate vote this month. "If we have the same process and the same people, we are going to get the same results," said Senator Evan Bayh, Democrat of Indiana, who recently met with Mr. Obama to discuss the idea. "The Democratic Party wants to spend more than we can afford; the Republican Party tends to want to cut taxes more than we can afford. So we are stuck."

As the Times gently points out, the problem isn't tax cuts or even massive spending increases. The problem long term are Medicare and Medicaid costs that threaten to bring down the nation's economy. Still, I find it interesting that the GOP - with about as much power in congress as a eunuch at a brothel - is being blamed for this impasse. Raising taxes in a recession is suicide which makes the Republicans practical, not obstructionists.

It will indeed be a cold day in hell before the Democrats get around to cutting the deficit in any meaningful way. That's how Obama wants it and that's how it's going to be.