To Escape Chaos, a Terrible Deal  —  There is little to like about the tentative agreement between Congressional leaders and the White House except that it happened at all.  The deal would avert a catastrophic government default, immediately and probably through the end of 2012.

Mitt Romney opposes compromise deal on the debt ceiling  —  Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) broke his silence on the congressional debt-ceiling fight on Monday, emerging to say he couldn't back the final deal announced Sunday.  —  Romney, who had refused to weigh in during recent weeks …

The Fine Print on the Debt Deal  —  If Democrats read the fine print on the debt deal struck by President Obama and Congressional leaders, they'll find that it's a little better than it appears at first glance.  —  That's not to say that the deal is a good one for them.

Krugman Quibble  —  I agree with most of what Paul Krugman has to say about the debt deal-with one crucial exception.  He's right that Obama should have included raising the debt ceiling in last December's tax deal...but he's wrong, I think, about the President using what we'll call …

Did Obama Get Rolled?  —  The debt ceiling agreement is a horrible piece of legislation.  It ratchets down already too-low domestic discretionary spending caps and imposes painful sacrifice on the middle class with little asked of the rich.  Obviously, though, you can't assess any deal without asking “compared to what?”

Why the Debt Ceiling Deal Sucks  —  Marian and I have now been married for 20 years (yay us!), so we went up to LA yesterday to see a show and then stayed over today to have lunch with Mark Kleiman and then watch world #84 Ernests Gulbis beat Mardy Fish in the finals of the Farmers Classic at UCLA.

How the Tea Party ‘hobbits’ won the debt fight  —  The Tea Party came under fire from all sides Friday after House conservatives nearly brought down Speaker John Boehner's debt-limit bill.  John McCain went to the Senate floor to mock Tea Partyers as “hobbits,” and Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen …

A Tea Party Triumph  —  The debt deal is a rare bipartisan victory for the forces of smaller government.  —  If a good political compromise is one that has something for everyone to hate, then last night's bipartisan debt-ceiling deal is a triumph.  The bargain is nonetheless better …

Debt Ceiling Deal—Less Than Meets the Eye  —  My stated preference has long been for a clean debt ceiling hike.  Failing that, I wanted to see a debt ceiling deal that contained as little policy as possible, or at least very little bad policy.  This deal meets those criteria, and I am satisfied.

The myth of Obama's “blunders” and “weakness”  —  With the details of the pending debt deal now emerging (and for a very good explanation of the key terms, see this post by former Biden economic adviser Jared Bernstein), a consensus is solidifying that (1) this is a virtually full-scale victory …

A deal that found the lowest-common denominator  —  (Alex Wong - VIA BLOOMBERG) Assuming no hiccups in the House — and that might be a big assumption — we've got a deal.  The deficit-reduction side includes $1 trillion in cuts now, $1.5 trillion (or more) in deficit reduction later, and a vote on a balanced budget amendment.