The United States of America is on the verge of national bankruptcy—in reality if not technically. The printing press can—for a while—disguise how insolvent we are becoming. But we are indeed headed in the direction of Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain and other governments which are broke.

We have maxed out our national credit card. A 14 trillion dollar national debt—which requires a one trillion dollar annual interest payment—is a national disgrace.

And you can thank both political parties for it. Yes, the Republicans are as equally responsible as the Democrats for thirty years of profligacy.

OK. Let’s not spend valuable time looking backwards; let’s instead figure out how to solve the problem:

1) The just-completed Commission on the National Debt was a terrific first step on the road to having DC address the problem. They began the process of educating the American people on the specific solutions on both the spending and revenue ends of this problem;

2) The Tea Party Movement of the last year has heroically led the way on these Big Concepts: federal spending must be cut, the deficits eliminated and the debt paid down. That is the only way to save our nation.

3) But the Tea Party Movement never had to deal with the specifics of how to do this. They did not have to put meat on the skeleton of Debt Reduction;

4) Make no mistake: cutting programs and raising revenue are now the predominant political issue of our time.

5) Friday’s devastatingly bad jobs numbers reinforce the hopelessness of the American economy today. We are not going to regenerate a once-vibrant economy while saddled with so much debt—federal, state and personal.

6) But—and this is the Big BUT—making the cuts in entitlements and the Pentagon and agreeing to changes in taxes that can be called “raising taxes” is where things will get very, very difficult because many of the same people in the House and Senate who created this ongoing disaster are the ones deciding how to fix it.

7) Every single item in our federal budget has been put there over the years through a concerted, detailed and orchestrated lobbying campaign often supported by powerful political constituencies and huge campaign contributions. To now remove, cut-back, re-jigger or alter any of them is going to cause a war inside DC.

8) The President—who has spent money like a madman during his first two years—has an opportunity now to re-make his so-far disastrous presidency: He can either remain a detached, hard-left liberal who has lost the American center and is a greatly reduced figure after the mid-terms or he can transform himself into a leader who seizes this debt issue as his issue and re-makes the national debate on terms that help him. And, politically, he can salvage his presidency and even get himself re-elected if he does this correctly. He will have to take on the hard left and the hard right—but in the process will re-take the more-valuable center—in order to do this.

9) The debate on how to fix our debt problem has begun. What we do not yet know is who will star in this debate. Will it be Barack Obama, who has no expertise in federal budget issues or in economics but is the POTUS and thus can command any stage any time he wants? Will it be GOP rising star Paul Ryan, the incoming chairman of the House Budget Committee? Or will it me someone not yet on our radar screen?

10) Whoever it is, the issue—saving our national economy—is the issue of our lifetime.

John LeBoutillier will indeed be on Fox & Friends on the Fox News Channel, Monday, at 6:50 AM EST, to talk about The Obama Identity.

As of now, I am scheduled to be interviewed in studio—live—on FOX News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” on Monday, November 29th @ 6:50 am to discuss The Obama Identity.

John LeBoutillier is a Glutton for Punishment.
Around Here, That’s a Good Thing.

Former Congressman John LeBoutillier was banned from this program for a little while, but Imus deemed him officially un-banned today, and congratulated his guest on taking his banishment “like a man.”

But LeBoutillier is all too familiar with the I-Man’s ways, and knew how not to anger him. “I’ve listened since May of 1972,” he said. “I am the Imus listener.”

Now, however, he is an Imus guest, and as such is required to make thorough, concise, interesting observations while Imus pretends to listen and understand.

LeBoutillier, now a “nationally recognized right-wing nut,” according to Imus, thinks the results of the midterm elections earlier this month, where Republicans made substantial gains, are proof of a genuine fear among Americans that their country is declining.

“The country, like a billiard ball, is bouncing back and forth, left and right, looking quickly for a solution to that question: are we going down the drain?” he said. “Can we forestall it? Can we fix the problem?”

The Republicans and Democrats, in his view, don’t know how to handle anything, and have completely lost it. Case in point: Rep. John Boehner, the soon-to-be Speaker of the House, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, both Republicans, turned down an opportunity to meet tomorrow with President Obama.

“They are so afraid of meeting publicly with Obama for fear that the Tea Party and the Right will accuse them of doing a dirty deal with the devil,” LeBoutillier said. “Until they get that whole thing set on the Right between the Republicans and the Tea Party, and everybody’s together, they don’t even want to talk to the President of the United States.”

Unfortunately, elections in this country are won in the middle of the political spectrum, LeBoutiller said, and that middle “is sitting there, disgusted with both parties.”

Which is what gave rise to the Tea Party, a primarily economic movement. “Financially, we’ve spent the country into oblivion—federally, on a state level, and personally,” LeBoutillier said, adding, “We’re living beyond our means as people, and as a nation.”

Though Imus ascribes to Matt Taibbi’s theory that all this political nonsense is merely a diversion from larger, more disturbing financial dealings of people on Wall Street and in Washington, LeBoutiller is somewhat less skeptical.

“It’s two separate things going on at the same time,” he said.

After a few minutes talking about upcoming guest Bethany McLean’s first book about Enron, called The Smartest Guys in the Room, Imus declared the interview over.

“We’re out of time and we’ve accomplished nothing,” he said. “You answers were good, my questions weren’t. I don’t understand any of it, and I’m pretty much thinking about other stuff.”

-Julie Kanfer

A short and quick thought: the National Debt is going to drag our nation down and down into second-rate national status. It is a huge drain on our economy. The massive interest payment each year is the second largest item in our annual budget.

Plus China, Japan and others–by buying our debt–acquire power over us. Not a smart move by us to have Beijing have an upper hand over us.

And of course we are cheapening the value of the dollar.

The rise of the Tea Party movement–mainly to combat this debt situation–is a miracle and a sign of the Hand of God. Indeed, the American grass roots are not going to let politicians keep ruining our country.

And now that the GOP/Tea Party/conservatives have won the 2010 elections, an amazing phenomenon is about to occur: we, as a nation, are entering a multi-year national debate about how to reduce the National Debt and finally get our federal fiscal house in order.

Last week’s preliminary chairmen’s report on the Deficit Reduction Commission–co-chaired by Erskine Bowles and former Senator Simpson–is the first move of many to come to address the systemic problems (entitlements and Pentagon spending) we have.

What this is going to take is national leadership. If President Obama takes ahold of this issue he can rescue his otherwise-failing presidency and maybe even get himself re-elected.

But if he fumbles it–as he seems to fumble just about everything–then the GOP will capture this issue for the 2012 presidential election, in which the fiscal issues will trump the social issues.

Make no mistake: this is the pre-eminent issue of our time. We are on the verge of bankruptcy – and we must reverse course now. To do so is going to incur the wrath of many of our fellow citizens.

Can we do it?

Yes.

But it is going to be very, very difficult and will require tremendous political courage and skill.

Here is a terrible conundrum: we all want our fellow Americans to do well, to be happy, to find the jobs they desire. We all want the economy to recover–and soon. But if that recovery happens, it is likely that Barack Obama will get the credit (presidents get the blame or credit regardless of what they do) and will be a strong favorite to be re-elected in 2012. Furthermore, his Big Government spending spree will be credited with the recovery–just as FDR’s New Deal “cured” the Great Depression. For generations to come, historians, political scientists and economists will once again praise massive federal spending as the sure-fire cure-all for economic problems.

On the other hand, we can’t be rooting for the economy to remain lifeless. Yes, that might very well spell doom for President Obama’s chances in 2012. But do we want years more of the misery we are experiencing now?

No!

So we root for economic recovery. And if the price is Obama gets re-elected, so be it. Maybe the Republican House and a 2012-elected GOP-controlled Senate can restrain the worst of Obama.

By the way, many economists do not believe we are poised for a real job-creating recovery. The stimulus was a flop. And there isn’t enough in the system to ignite a true recovery. Thus the Fed’s move to buy $600 billion more of Treasuries as yet another way to inject liquidity into a frozen lending and investing situation.

Meanwhile the 2010 election is over. The Republican/Tea Party/conservative movement has won a startlingly large victory. President Obama and Nancy Pelosi have been severely rebuked by the American people–even though they don’t seem to understand why.

The next—and only order of business—re-invigorating the economy–will include major decisions over taxes, the raising of the National Debt Limit, and the hardest of them all: curtailing entitlement and Pentagon spending.

The American business community will be watching carefully. DC’s decisions will determine whether or not consumers, banks and business begin spending again and thus hiring workers again.

But here is the crux of the matter: if the economy does not improve and if the unemployment numbers don’t drop substantially by the 2012 election, both parties and President Obama will have a hard time being re-elected. This year’s Tea Party anti-establishment fervor will seem like a festive holiday compared to what will greet the Political Establishment in 2012 unless things improve.

There will be an opening for a credible Independent Candidate to come along and run against both political parties.

We do not–as of today–know who this person might be. But with the power of on-line fundraising, this Independent Candidate does not have to be rich, ala Ross Perot in 1992. No, nowadays you can raise the money from hundreds of thousands of people online in the snap of a finger.

Conversely, if things do improve by 2012, then Obama and incumbents in both parties will most likely be re-elected. We will have more status quo, with no one wanting to rock the boat by making any large, revolutionary structural changes. Thus, the deficits and debt will continue.

Conclusion: the United States is in deep, deep trouble–all caused by our own addiction to personal, state and federal debt. In the long run we might overcome this problem, but we have a long way to go before we get there. Politically, the results of this debt-ridden economy are going to roil us for several more election cycles. We are billiard-balling back and forth–from the Republicans to the Democrats and back–in rapid time. The voters are impatient. They are shopping for someone and some party to fix this mess. The GOP has been given a new life. Will they make the right moves? Or will they misstep–again–and hand it back to the Democrats?

Stay tuned. We’ll find out in the next year.

(Written on 3 hours of sleep at 7 AM Wednesday.)

Last night’s results–other than Harry Reid’s survival—were expected. A huge anti-Obama/Pelosi/Reid night. The Tea Party energy revived a moribund GOP. And Sarah Palin’s star has clearly dimmed.

The new Republican House is going to be fiscally conservative. John Boehner knows he and his fellow House GOP leaders went too big for deficit spending under G.W. Bush–and he/they now have a second chance to prove their conservative chops. They also have 60+ new Members coming in who are going to refuse to “go along to get along.” So look for the GOP to be more traditionally conservative–especially on fiscal/budget/tax matters in the House for the next year or so.

The Senate, too, will move to the middle as Democrats up for re-election in 2012 are scared to death today about yesterday’s results. They are going to un-hitch their wagon from Obama beginning today.

President Obama, who has had a deer-in-the-headlights look for the past two weeks, is reeling. He is lost at sea. But he now has a foil—the GOP House—and Obama loves to blame away his mistakes on others. So he’ll replace Bush with Boehner and keep on blaming! However, he has no clue about how to be President. He does know how to be a candidate for the presidency. But as a leader, he is a flop.

Obama only cares now about a path to his own re-election. He is not going to have any serious primary challenge, no matter what media Talking Heads may say. He will easily raise $600 million for his re-election. And he’ll watch the GOP rip itself apart trying to find a unifying, electable conservative who can win over the key independent voter in 2012.

Sarah Palin took it on the nose in Alaska with write-in, anti-Palin Lisa Murkowski apparently winning the Senate seat. Also, Palin’s fellow Mama Grizzlies—Christine O’Donnell and Sharron Angle—blew elections they should and could have won.

The GOP Power Women—Meg Whitman, Carly Fiorina and Linda McMahon—who all spent millions of their own money and all of whom had never done squat in politics or even bothered to vote in most elections (McMahon had even donated $$ to Democrats and the GOP nominated her??!!)—all got blown out for the same reason: women voters went against them in a big, big way.

But, overall, yesterday proved one thing: The USA is a fiscally conservative country with a majority of people worried we are headed toward national bankruptcy. Washington DC is out of control—and the American voters have sent a new brigade to the Capitol with instructions: “Get our fiscal house in order—fast—or we’ll throw you out, too!”