DOWNGRADED!

For the first time in history, the United States has been stripped of its perfect triple AAA rating.

On Friday, Standard and Poors downgraded the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+.  According to S+P, the divisive tone in Washington, combined with the political game lawmakers willingly played in bringing the U.S. to the brink of default during the recent debt ceiling debate, was proof enough that our credit worthiness was volatile and imperfect.  Now Democrats and Republicans are tripping over each other to point the political finger of blame.

Democrats say conservative House Republicans, specifically Tea Party members, were the main force behind threats of a government default since they opposed higher taxes on wealthy American’s.  Republicans say Mr. Obama’s spending policies on health care, the stimulus and other items have increased the debt, slowing growth and job creation. Who’s right?

Let’s face it folks, Washington is broken. And although Mr. Obama was elected on the premise that he could fix it and create a sense of unity, the traditional political games are still being played.  Some political analysts believe the Republican playbook is to keep economic growth at a snail’s pace for their own political gain.  They say for President Obama to seek reelection during a possible double-dip recession, poor job numbers and now a credit downgrade, could be the perfect storm for Republicans to present the case that it’s time for a new leader.

Would Republicans intentionally cause chaos, even at the expense of the American people, for their own political purposes? Perhaps.  But they’re already lining up political talking points to place full blame for the credit downgrade directly in the lap of the President. “We can’t find him,” former Minnesota governor and GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty said on Fox News Sunday. “Where is his specific public plan on Social Security reform? Where is his specific public plan on Medicare reform and Medicaid reform?   He has an obligation and a responsibility to lead, and you can’t find him.”  GOP presidential candidate and current Rep. Michele Bachmann also weighed in, calling for Mr. Obama to fire Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in light of the credit downgrade.

But Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod sees things differently. Using the term “Tea Party downgrade” Axelrod used a Sunday morning interview to drive home the point that the president has rescued the economy from a near-Depression that began under former president George W. Bush. He says that although there are a number of things that could help the economy, without cooperation from congressional Republicans (including those Tea Party members), we will forever remain at a political stalemate.