A couple of things jump out at you from this Gallup poll on raising the debt ceiling. Besides the lopsided opposition to adding to our debt, there is the surprising breakdown by party; only 33% of Democrats support their own president. Also, while 57% of Americans are paying close attention to the debate, Republicans are far more interested  than Democrats. 66% of GOP voters are following the debate "very closely" or "somewhat closely" while only 41% of Democrats can say the same.If ever there was a popular backstop for John Boehner and Mitch McConnell to get something done on the deficit, this is the time: In one sense, this is more of a political than a financial issue. As former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan noted, the Congress has already passed legislation spending the money at stake, so there seems to be little choice but to allow the Treasury to raise the funds it needs to meet the government's obligations. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben...(Read Full Post)