CBO Slams Dem Move to Lower Health Costs

One breast cancer patient's apology to the president

(NEWSER) - Until about a month ago, Spike Dolomite Ward was so upset with Barack Obama that she’d taken a Sharpie to her bumper sticker, changing its message from "Got hope" to "Got nope." Now, she’s publicly apologizing. What changed? “I found out three weeks ago I have cancer,” she writes in the LA Times . And though she and her husband work hard—he owns a small computer business, while she runs a nonprofit—they didn’t have health insurance. After years spent struggling to purchase their own insurance, going so far as to cash in an IRA and use a home equity line of credit, "the time finally came when we had to make a choice between paying our mortgage or paying for health insurance,” she explains. More»

Mitch McConnell, Tea Party at the forefront: Chris Cillizza

(NEWSER) - The debt-deal dust has yet to settle, but that's not stopping anyone from analyzing its political consequences. In the Washington Post , Chris Cillizza notes the winners:

• Mitch McConnell was “the Mariano Rivera of the debt deal. He waited until the game was in its final moments, came onto the field and helped close things down.”
• The Tea Party showed its sway, driving John Boehner to delay his bill and “add conservative sweeteners to get the 217 votes he needed.”

House speaker reworking debt measure to meet projections

(NEWSER) - John Boehner's debt ceiling plan has had a lousy day: In the latest setback, the Congressional Budget Office says it doesn't cut as much as Boehner thought—the CBO puts the figure at $850 billion over a decade, instead of the $1.2 trillion promised by the House speaker, reports the Washington Post . (Read the CBO letter here .) As a result, Boehner and his aides were scrambling to rework the measure. A House vote scheduled for tomorrow has been delayed and now might take place Thursday. Whenever it arrives, however, there's no guarantee it will pass. More»

His mother had health insurance when she died, and it paid up

(NEWSER) - A recent book on President Obama’s mother undermines his oft-told story that his mother spent the final years of her life battling insurance companies over her medical bills. The book, by New York Times reporter Janny Scott, reveals that Ann Dunham actually had health insurance that readily paid her claims. She did have a dispute, but it was with her disability insurance, the Times reports. And Obama must have known that, because in one letter she turns the case over to “my son and attorney, Barack Obama.” More»

...even though 'this may bring my presidency down'

(NEWSER) - We already knew last night's debt talks did not go well —but not only did President Obama leave "abruptly," he really put his foot down, Talking Points Memo reports: "I have reached the point where I say enough," he said, according to those present. "Would Ronald Reagan be sitting here? I've reached my limit. This may bring my presidency down, but I will not yield on this." More of the latest developments:

• Obama reportedly gave both sides a deadline to determine whether they will seek long-term spending cuts or a short-term solution: tomorrow. His reason for leaving last night, at least according to one Democrat? Eric Cantor interrupted his closing remarks to push, for the third time, a short-term extension of the Aug. 2 deadline. Obama's response? "See you guys tomorrow."