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Keller @ Large: No Surprise Supercommittee A Failure

BOSTON (CBS) - To the surprise of absolutely no one with a clue, the bi-partisan congressional supercommittee formed three months ago to figure out how to get our dangerously out-of-control deficit and debt problems under control is reportedly on the brink of admitting failure.

Listen to Jon's commentary:

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This wasn't exactly hard to predict when the committee was created last August, since both parties stocked their side of the table with members of the House and Senate who are either ideologues or harsh partisans, or both.

Expecting them to courageously and open-mindedly negotiate their way to compromise was like dropping a cheeseburger into a Labrador retriever's bowl and expecting him to save it for later.

I risked ruining a relaxing weekend yesterday by watching some of the clips of supercommittee members from both parties frantically playing the blame game on the Sunday talk shows, and I must say, neither side was convincing.

I look into the eyes of most Washington politicians these days and see a toxic mixture of hunger and fear – the hunger for a chance to demonize and eliminate their partisan opponents next fall, and the fear that if they offend their own party's orthodoxy, it'll spell curtains for their wretched political careers.

The Republicans don't have the slightest intention of giving up their love affair with tax cuts, and the Democrats have no intention of seriously curbing the growth of budget-busting entitlement spending.

And in their tiny, stunted view of the world, the continued deterioration of our economic standing that will accompany continued failure to act is OK if it can be successfully blamed on their opponents.

In the meantime, there is one elected official who conceivably could provide the political leadership these sad sheep need to find a way out.

But the president has been AWOL, choosing instead to abdicate a leadership role to the aforementioned sheep.

When all you have left is your personal popularity, why risk it on a solution to a tough problem that is likely to anger many voters for years to come?

It'll be hard to keep a straight face next time I hear him talk about doing the right thing.

In the meantime, did you hear about the new book members of the supercommittee are writing about themselves?

It's entitled: "Profiles in Courage – Not."

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.

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