Everybody loves E. J.! Columnist E. J. Dionne is a nice guy. But you can always count on him to express the latest left orthodoxy. Today is no exception:
The decision by Standard & Poor’s to move U. S. government debt to a negative outlook is really a political intervention by a ratings agency into the country’s debt and deficit debate.
I truly doubt that any investor expects the United States government to default on its debt. The underlying assets of the United States – which is to say, the largest economy in the world – are rather formidable. And history says that we eventually get our act together on budget matters, even though the politics on the way there is usually ugly.
The American Thinker has dubbed President Obama Alfred E. President after the old Mad magazine mascot whose motto was, “What me worry?” That appears to be E. J.’s slogan, too. Only by dismissing economic reality can the left keep on spending our money with reckless abandon. Silver lining for E.J.: the president appears intransigent in his opposition to meaningful cuts.