On the Sunday morning talk shows several prominent Democrats (John Kerry on Meet the Press, David Axelrod and Howard Dean on Face the Nation) seemed to be saying that a contributing factor in their decision to downgrade their rating of US debt, was the fact that the "balanced approach", one that included closing tax loop-holes, ending certain corporate tax breaks and letting the Bush tax cuts expire, was now unlikely.
However in reading the S&P communique, the only statement I could find on the question is this: "Standard & Poor's takes no position on the mix of spending and revenue measures that Congress and the Administration might conclude is appropriate for putting the U.S.'s finances on a sustainable footing".
While personally, I favor the balanced approach, this doesn't seem to me to be the ringing endorsement that those doing the Sunday morning talk show circuit were suggesting.
What I think many people are looking for in our political discourse is less spin and fewer point-winning sound bites and more honesty. Frankly, I'd hoped for better from the Democrats.
The country faces some fairly momentous challenges and solving them isn't best served with partisan bickering that is best described as "economical with the truth".
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