Headed toward the middle

This is not based on anything hijacked from the Winston-Salem Journal, but is certainly topical:

I normally do not watch the chattering class on the news networks, as I can form my own opinions sans assistance from ratings- and agenda-driven talking heads. However, Mrs. Stab occasionally does, and last night she was watching Bill O'Reilly. I probably share a good bit (not all, mind you) of his outlook, but do not like his yelling and interrupting his guests. Nor do I like his show's giving Al Sharpton credibility by having him as a frequent guest.

That said, I sat with Mrs. Stab last night and watched O'Reilly's opening monologue. It was notable for its centrism: the national debt is a crisis and it must be addressed in a variety of ways. Unyielding opposition to revenue (tax) increases counterproductive, as is the same obstinacy re spending cuts.

O'Reilly suggests spending cuts augmented by closing tax loopholes, thus effectively raising taxes. He noted that he has been cited twice by the White House as a voice of moderation in the debt debate, and that the White House has noted that some Republicans are joining the realistic shift to the middle in this debate. This is where we need to be, where Democrat House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is saying "Bravo!" to a suggestion by Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Now, whether it deserves a "Bravo!" is another matter, but his willingness to budge, along with his discussions with Majority Leader Harry Reid, does warrant the cheer.

What doesn't warrant a cheer is the fact that all these pols, including President Obama, are picking around a matter that should have been resolved, a part of a much larger whole that is being neglected by this kabuki dance. That whole includes "regrowing" the US economy into a process that actually makes things other than Big Macs and whose current major growth industry is the care of sick people. It also includes addressing the tax system, energy policy and climate change (sorry, it's a fact). And ending the wasting of our national treasure on the current wars as soon as possible. By national treasure, I mean the lives of our military. We have spent too many in at least one wrong place as it is.