Who Won This Fight?

Now that the budget battle for FY 2011 is just about over, who actually won the battle? IMHO, I think Democrats won.

President Obama came out of this fight looking like the grownup at a food fight. He chastised congress for not being able to work things out amongst themselves and parachuted in to save the government from a shutdown. Republicans, IMO will be perceived as impetuous children who are being unreasonable and using the threat of a government shutdown to get what they could not get through the regular order of business. It will not be looked upon by moderate Independents who will decide the next election in 2012.

David Kurtz over at TPM points out that there is griping from both Democrats and some Republicans. To which I say that is a good thing for the President. He has to be seen as the reasonable one, the leader who is moderate and can make compromises in the name of governing. Going into the 2012 election he cannot be seen to be placating to his base and running left, the President has to tack to the middle and stay there.

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post has an interesting take, he writes that both sides are playing to their bases and intentionally took this issue to the brink to stir them up!

Over the next week as we get closer to the deadline to vote for the deal, expect to start hearing from both sides why they are for against the deal. Some Tea Partiers and Democrats have already publicly stated their disdain  or pleasure for the bill.

However, only time will tell whether either side gets any political blowback or wind in their sails over this. The next budget battle however will be coming quite quickly and Republicans have promised to use the debt ceiling as leverage. I hope the President calls their bluff on this one, if they spook investors and interest rates go up and the stock market falls it would be a disaster and Republicans would take the heat for their belligerence.