NOTHING SAID, NOTHING ACCOMPLISHED – AT 10:14 P.M. ET:  Both President Obama and Speaker of the House Boehner spoke to the nation on television tonight, discussing the debt crisis.  Neither man said anything, but both wore well-pressed suits.  Nice suits, I thought.  I can't imagine that the TV ratings went through the roof.  From CNN:

Washington (CNN) -- Congress is at a stalemate over raising the federal debt ceiling, and Americans need to pressure their elected representatives to work out a compromise that will avoid a potentially devastating default, President Barack Obama told the nation Monday night.

For about the 44th time.

The president singled out House Republicans for intransigence and said the political showdown is "no way to run the greatest country on Earth."

That should increase the spirit of good will and compromise.

In response, House Speaker John Boehner argued the opposite, saying in televised remarks that excessive government spending caused the problems the nation faces and cutting that spending is the only way to solve the problem.

"The sad truth is that the president wanted a blank check six months ago, and he wants a blank check today," Boehner said. "That is just not going to happen."

COMMENT:  These chaps don't have a high regard for each other, and it showed.  The speeches were a waste of their time, and the nation's.  I have the sense that we're heading for some short-term, stop-gap measure to allow us to muddle through until some true negotiations occur.  Some pundits are saying that the stop-gap solution may have to take us through the 2012 election, after which the great statesmen of our time will get serious, and start coming to negotiating sessions in long pants.

July 25, 2011