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.

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 …

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 …

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?”

Did Obama capitulate — or is this a cagey move?  —  It was President Obama's bottom line, a position he repeated in every recent public utterance on his debt-ceiling talks with Congress: Any deal must be “balanced” with spending cuts and tax increases.  —  But in his eleventh-hour stare …

The debt-ceiling deal: Winners and losers  —  The debt ceiling fight is over.  The White House and congressional leaders have settled on a deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling, enact immediate spending cuts and, our favorite part, create a super-commission designed to trim the federal budget further by the end of the year.

Durbin: Debt Deal Will Be The Death Of Keynesian Economics … WASHINGTON — The Republicans are killing Keynesian economics with their attempt to cut spending as the economy rebounds from a recession, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said in a floor speech on Sunday.

Romney Breaks Debt Ceiling Silence: ‘Cannot Support This Deal’  —  After a week of attacks from left and right alike over his failure to take a position on the latest round of Republican debt ceiling proposals, Mitt Romney has made up his mind on the final deal: he's against it.

Mitt Romney Opposes Debt Compromise  —  After sitting almost silent on the sidelines for weeks, Mitt Romney on Monday declared that he is opposed to the debt ceiling compromise hammered out in Washington over the weekend.  —  The former Massachusetts governor and presidential frontrunner …

No Guarantee Debt Limit Deal Gets Through the House  —  US House of Representatives Entrance (photo: deltaMike)  —  I talked about the debt limit deal in the past tense in my initial thoughts, but I should have put it in the present tense.  Because there's no real guarantee that this thing gets through the House.