It's called laughing all the way to the bank - with the keys in your pocket! And the Republicans, who are left looking like a bunch of political down-and-outs, should not expect much more than the ash off the President's cigar to be tipped into their outstretched caps. I am not expert enough on the mechanics of American politics to be able to comment with authority but whatever so-called 'strategy' the Republicans were attempting it has left them looking inept and foolish. If you know you are on a loser, then don't fight the battle! The American people 'spoke' in November and Obama and his party were returned strengthened and obviously determined to ram through their programme which can be fairly summed as tax, borrow and spend, tax, borrow and spend again, then, guess what, tax, borrow and spend even more. Surely the Republicans could have agreed amongst themselves not to take part in futile, so-called negotiations but simply to keep on restating their opposition and, most important of all, to keep on warning the American people of the eventual fiscal disaster that will occur as sure as night follows day. Then they could have abstained en masse to show their united opposition. Surely that would have left them looking more respectable than their bedraggled appearance today. The one united act they can take now will be to refuse to allow the debt ceiling to be raised. That, above and beyond all other things, will leave the Dems owning the ticking time bomb.