It's like Greg Sargent is talking straight to PoliGAF:
The rumors about the debt limit and deficit negotiations are flying this afternoon, followed, as usual, by panic on the left and the right that the worst versions of each rumor is true. Weve been sold out! is the cry of the day.
And yet, its worth remembering that early reports are usually wrong, almost always in the details and quite often in their entirety. Why? Lots of reasons. Rumors of a budget deal could be accurate. They also could be spin; they could be trial balloons; they could be a source getting something wrong; they could be a reporter getting something wrong.
Remember, people in politics who talk to reporters usually have an agenda. If theyre leaking something, odds are that they have a reason, and that reason could very well be an attempt to influence events through publicity. That is, they could be afraid someone will happen, so theyll try to kill it by leaking that it will happen, in order to generate opposition. On the other hand, sometimes the leaker does know exactly what will happen, and is leaking in order to influence the story about it. Given a deal, which parts to we want to emphasize? Leak those.
Or: it could be that the leaker knows that there is no deal yet, but wants to gauge reactions to a possible deal.
Or: perhaps the leaker is believes that the information is accurate, but it actually isnt. It wouldnt be the first time that someone on the periphery of a Washington negotiation (or, for that matter, any negotiation) is convinced that hes a major player. And then there are the reporters. Theyre competitive; theyre all looking for the scoop, and even the best ones jump the gun at times.
One more thing. When it comes to the budget, a lot of this stuff is highly technical and complex, including such seemingly obvious things as what counts as a tax increase or what counts as a spending cut. I guarantee that if a deal is reached and enacted, people will be arguing for years quite possibly, for decades about basic questions about the size and shape of the deal.
So my first advice to everyone is to calm down; the odds that the initial stories get important things wrong are very high even if they were based on public announcements of a deal, and theyre much higher when its only at the rumor stage.
My second advice to activists, however, is that once youve calmed down, is to get to work. If its a trial balloon and you dont like it, shoot it down; if its a tentative deal, make sure everyone knows your position. Its no time to be fatalists, moaning about how John Boehner or Barack Obama has betrayed you.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...d-get-to-work/2011/07/21/gIQAd7zTSI_blog.html
Edit: the
Pentagon will certify on Friday that they are ready for DADT repeal to be implemented.
