Reply #2: It's Not The Same

[iamjoy]

The downgrade happened more than two years after President Obama took office. 9/11 was less than a year into Dubya's term.

Nah, there is no way to deflect this. The downgrade is a huge embarrassment for President Obama. So, I'd say Boehner and and the tea party nut jobs accomplished their goal. They got huge concessions on spending cuts, with no consideration of new revenue sources, they averted an actual default (which may have led to the men and women of our military not being paid) and they dragged out the negotiations long enough for our nation's credit to be downgraded - a humiliation they can blame on Obama through next year's election. Meanwhile, the downgrade will make borrowing more expensive, requiring ever more cuts to spending, which will worsen the economy and further hurt Americans. This is another winning campaign issue for Republicans next year. Oh, and in making those spending cuts, Obama has ticked off his base who won't be energized to help re-elect him.
Well played, Republicans.

President Obama deserves some of the blame, too. He made a politically disastrous mistake - he trusted the wrong people. He continued the Bush bailouts without demanding real Wall Street reform. When the Republicans wanted to continue the Bush tax cuts, he didn't insist on tying a debt ceiling increase to it. He trusted the Republicans. Had he been true to his base, they would have been there for him in 2010 and for 2012. Instead, he ignored his base to suck up to Wall Street and play nice with the Republicans. See what that got him?