OBAMA: PASS MY DEBT CEILING OR I’LL STARVE GRANDMA.
UPDATE: Reader David Gulliver emails: “They told me if I voted for John McCain . . . the President would stop paying social security to our most vulnerable elderly and disabled Americans – and they were right!”
Related: The U.S. Treasury Will Not Default If Debt Ceiling Isn’t Raised: “I’m afraid Secretary Geithner and others in government are doing the moral equivalent of yelling ‘Fire!’ in a crowded theater and they are doing so for political reasons rather than financial reasons. . . . If we do not raise the debt ceiling by August 2nd, we will not default on Treasury obligations. Nor, will we have trouble making Social Security payments.” Unless the President orders them stopped. Though it’s not clear that Treasury can stop.