KEITH HENNESSEY SUMMARIZES AND ANALYZES THE BUDGET CONTROL ACT.

UPDATE: Budget Deal Not Polling So Well:

Asked for single-word characterizations of the budget negotiations, the top words in the poll — conducted in the days before an apparent deal was struck — were “ridiculous,” “disgusting” and “stupid.” Overall, nearly three-quarters of Americans offered a negative word; just 2 percent had anything nice to say.

Ouch.