JENNIFER RUBIN ON MCCONNELL’S BACKUP PLAN: “So the name of the game here for opponents of Obama’s ambition to ensconce an enlarged welfare state is to maximize Republicans’ limited power without causing an actual default crisis. Boehner and McConnell are cooperating on a pincer movement — stand firm in the bipartisan negotiations and threaten to force Obama come up with the cuts himself, in the event he won’t drop his demands for huge tax hikes and/or come up with meaningful immediate cuts. Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) hectors Obama to come forward with the specifics of his promised proposals to cut entitlement benefits.. . . Republican presidential contenders and back-benchers have the luxury of simply saying no to every attainable debt-ceiling increase option. That’s politics. Meanwhile, Boehner, McConnell and Cantor grind away, seeing if they can wear down the White House. If so, a not-very-grand bargain still may be in the offing. If not, there’s the backup plan.”

UPDATE: Related thoughts from Pejman Yousefzadeh.