DEBT-CEILING BILL passes the House. “Democrats lost on virtually every issue of principle (taxes, a clean debt bill, real spending cuts) because the president insisted above all else on getting himself to the next election without another showdown. . . . Republicans should be cautious. The House held off the president and the Senate. It refused to raise taxes, and thereby maintained a stark and compelling distinction between the parties. It made some real, if not overwhelming, cuts. More was not possible. You can’t get Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicare reform bill with only the House. You can’t insure an adequate level of defense spending with only the House. You can’t get Medicaid and Social Security reform with only the House.”