Josh Marshall - and to a much lesser degree me - was upset that Biden was "negotiating with terrorists" when it came to the debt ceiling. However, what occurred to me - and Marshall is now open to this possibility - is that McCarthy was not the real "target" of the negotiations. Nor is it the DC press corpse.
The target is a handful of Republicans who are sick of the Chaos Caucus and don't want to blow up the global economy. Theoretically, Biden engages with McCarthy and comes to some sort of "deal" but that deal is blown up by the gibbering lunatics of the Freedumb Caucus. This gives cover to the handful of Republicans needed to pass an actual debt ceiling increase - even if it's just 30 abstentions - without having to concede everything Democrats worked for.
This would especially work with a short term increase - say through December - which could get wrapped up in an actual budget negotiation. That would be bad, but better than default.
Has Biden given McCarthy an "out" that allows him to oppose the very deal he put forward, but also allows a handful of Republicans to so their freaking jobs?
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