Republicans should stay firm in coming negotiations and say that an agreement to increase the national debt should also come with an agreement to reduce the national spending.

The press has pilloried Boehner for walking away from debt negotiations, but it may prove to be one of the greatest moments of his speakership--and a turning point in the "Cold War" over our national debt.

With an economy seemingly on the precipice of a renewed recession, an angry conservative movement, and a disillusioned liberal base disappointed in his first term, Barack Obama's bid for reelection next year will, by all indications, be a tough, maybe even uphill fight. But the President can at least take some solace in a precedent from 64 years ago: Harry Truman's campaign for reelection in 1948.

Gingrich is unlikely ever to be a figure of much fondness outside the ranks of the Gop.