Barack the Mad  —  The American presidency comes off the rails.  —  On Friday, right after his Democrat colleagues in the Senate used a procedural maneuver to kill the Cut, Cap and Balance Act without a real vote, President Obama held a town hall meeting at the University of Maryland …

U.S. Stock Futures Decline After Lawmakers Fail to Reach Debt-Ceiling Deal  —  U.S. stock futures fell, indicating the Standard & Poor's 500 Index will slump after rallying within 1.4 percent of a three-year high, as failure to raise the federal debt limit intensified concern of a default.

What Were They Thinking?  —  Someday people will look back and wonder, What were they thinking?  Why, in the midst of a stalled recovery, with the economy fragile and job creation slowing to a trickle, did the nation's leaders decide that the thing to do—in order to raise the debt limit …

Bill would force Obama to pay Social Security, military if US defaults  —  Tea Party conservatives hope to make a push on the House floor to force President Obama to avoid a national default if Congress fails to raise the debt limit.  —  Members of the Senate Tea Party Caucus have met …

President Pushover  —  Updated: Drew article now available.  —  The redoubtable Elizabeth Drew has a forthcoming article in the New York Review of Books — that confirms all our worst fears.  She tells us that past concessions have … Even more alarming, however, is her window on what the White House is thinking:

Rep. David Wu won't resign, Nancy Pelosi calls for ethics investigation  —  Rep. David Wu said late Sunday he would not resign but would complete his term and then retire from Congress.  —  The surprising decision came one day after senior Democratic leaders urged the seven-term Democrat …