House GOP seizes upper hand in debt reduction debate

According to common perception among the mainstream media and even a plurality of citizens, Barack Obama and the Democrats have managed to control the terms of the debate on debt reduction during the past week. A Quinnipiac poll, for example, indicates that more voters would blame the Republicans than Democrats if the government defaults on its debt, and that they trust Obama more than the GOP to handle the economy.

That poll is questionable given that other polling firms show that by an overwhelming majority Americans oppose raising the debt ceiling--the position taken by most Republicans--not Obama and the Democrats. And the most recent Gallup poll shows that Obama would lose to a generic, unnamed Republican--any Republican--by 8 points in 2012.

Let's suppose, however, that the Quinnipiac poll is correct and that Obama and the Democrats have had the upper hand in the debate over the past week. The momentum seems to be suddenly shifting in the other direction.

Continue reading at Anthony G. Martin's Conservative Examiner.