President Obama shakes hands with South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak as they hold a joint news conference at the G20 Summit in Seoul, November 11, 2010. (Reuters/Jim Young)
–Howard Gleckman at the Tax Policy Institute is pretty jazzed about the Simpson-Bowles deficit proposals, but realistic about what the plan really is:
To be candid, this proposal is so provocative it almost seems as if Bowles and Simpson realize they have no chance of building consensus on their own commission. As a result, they may have decided to take their best shot now rather than watch their plan get nibbled to death. If so, it may not have been a bad idea. The fiscal panel may fade away in shame, but I have a feeling this plan may live on.
–Kent Conrad, the Democrats’ top budget man in the Senate, says he’s willing to fall on his sword for deficit reduction. He might just get the chance.
–Ken Buck is mystified by his loss to Michael Bennet.
–The White House takes another step in the direction of the inevitable compromise extension of all the Bush tax cuts.
–Obamais having some trouble locking up that South Korean trade agreement.
–Iraqis strike a tentative deal on forming a new government with Malaki still at the helm.
–Can Sarah Palin cause hyper-inflation all by herself?
–And The Onion has a comedic crush on Joe Biden.