Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, D- Nevada, gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Monday. The Senate votes on the debt ceiling legislation Tuesday. The House passed the bill 269-161 Monday.By BEN FELLER and CHARLES BABINGTON
Associated Press
WASHINGTON – It took the threat of economic calamity to force Congress and President Barack Obama to finally reach a debt deal. Just like it took a near government shutdown to compel them to strike a budget agreement in April. And the prospect of an unpopular tax hike at the start of the year to force them to compromise in December.
So what have we learned from the default crisis? Expect more to come, America.
The same messy forces of divisive politics, decisions-on-deadline and vastly differing visions for the country will apply to the two overlapping stories barreling in on everyone. The first is the 2012 campaign, in which the White House and Congress are on the line. The second is the coming period of governing in which the debt fight will only get harder.