Creative politics or loaded gun?

BARACK OBAMA was gripping the telephone so tightly it looked as if he were about to pulverise it in his hand.

Back in the spring of 2011, House Republicans had refused to raise the nation’s debt ceiling unless Obama first conceded to massive spending cuts — a gratuitous game of chicken that put the global economy at risk and defied decades of bipartisan Washington tradition. At the time, many Democrats, including Bill Clinton, were urging Obama to go it alone. I’d raise the debt ceiling on my own, “without hesitation”, Clinton told a reporter. “[I’d] force the courts to stop me.” But the White House insisted that unilateral action was “not an option”.

Instead, Obama spent 44 days trying to forge a Grand Debt Bargain with John Boehner, the House Republican leader. The two politicians first negotiated over a round of golf at Andrews Air Force base in Washington. At the 11th hour, Boehner and Obama seemed to agree on a plan that would slash domestic, defence, and entitlement spending by more than $1.65tn (€1.26tn) over 10 years.