Charles Krauthammer: "I was sort of stunned by his appearance today. I said: ‘Why did he go out there?’ He went out there with the Dow at minus 400. And after he spoke, it went down to minus 600. He looked weak, plaintive and small. "I mean weak and plaintive because he comes out there and he blames, of course the Tea Party, Europe, Japan a

Rep. Michele Bachmann, Republican of Minnesota, appeared on "The O'Reilly Factor" to discuss Tim Geithner and reforming health care entitlements. While most conservatives will just use the blanket statement of entitlement reform, Bachmann explains ObamaCare must be repealed. Otherwise, if any tweaking is made to Medicare, ObamaCare will enroll t

Earlier on Monday, the President told the press he would produce his deficit plan to the not-yet-in-existence bipartisan, bicameral "super committee." Here's what he said: I realize that after what we just went through, there’s some skepticism that Republicans and Democrats on the so-called super committee, this joint committee tha

"You know what leadership means? It means that it doesn't really matter what S&P says. We all know deep inside that no country is the same as it was 5 years ago. And the market seems to be okay with it. And as for stocks going down we were already Ralph Cramden (of Honeymooners) on thin ice. Now an infant jumped on our shoulders. It’s just even m

"It's not a lack of plans or policies that is a problem here, it's a lack of political will in Washington. it is the insistence of drawing lines in the sand. A refusal to put what's best for the country ahead of self-interest or party or ideology. And that's what we need to change. I realize after what we just went through there is some skepticism

"Of course, as worrisome as the issues of debt and deficit may be the most immediate concern of most Americans and of concern to the marketplace as well is the issue of jobs. And the slow pace of recovery coming out of the worst recession in our lifetimes. "And the good news here is that by coming together to deal with the long-term debt challe

"I think the Commander in Chief has a particular personal responsibility to the families of every service person. This is one of those critical moments he should be there. We'll see what he says today. This is going to rip the scab off every feeling about this war. Joe Biden, who gets beat up for his mental limitations, and yet he was the one that

President Obama blamed America's economic woes on external forces such as earthquakes: "There will always be economic problems that we can't control. Earthquakes, spikes in oil prices, slowdowns in other parts of the world. How we respond to those tests, that's entirely up to us," Obama said at his presser earlier this afternoon. "The markets

Thomas Roberts, MSNBC anchor: "But globally your reaction, doesn't this make us look weak?" Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC): "Yes, that's what I'm saying. I think a lot has to do with what's going on in Europe. As much as what's going on in the United States of America. And I think that S&P has begun to play quite a bit in Europe. And because it makes

"When it comes to the GOP presidential candidates and what America will hear from them in Ames this week, they have extreme aims to please the far-right, Tea Party wing of their party and they are following the extreme agenda of Congressional Republicans instead of leading," the DNC says in an email. "All this while our country’s future hangs in

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell on MSNBC's "Morning Joe":Rendell: "What people have to understand, in any form of government in this country, the executive has to lead. And what the Obama folks don't get is good leadership, resolving problems, is the best way to get re-elected. Forget about all the details. You lead,

"After witnessing a month of wrangling over raising the debt ceiling, they doubted our political system’s ability to act. The markets, on the other hand, continue to believe our credit status is AAA. In fact, Warren Buffett, who knows a thing or two about good investments, said, 'If there were a quadruple-A rating, I’d give the United States

Rep. Allen West (R-FL) tells FOX News that when Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and David Axelrod blamed the Tea Party for S

Following the battle over raising the nation's debt ceiling, rating agency Standard and Poor's downgraded America's credit because of both deficit problems and apparent political turmoil. On CBS' "The Early Show," Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) said that defense cuts is one proposal for deficit reduction that should get bipartisan support. He a

THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. On Friday, we learned that the United States received a downgrade by one of the credit rating agencies -- not so much because they doubt our ability to pay our debt if we make good decisions, but because after witnessing a month of wrangling over raising the debt ceiling, they doubted our political system

FOX News reports: It’s all about Iowa this week for 2012 GOP hopefuls, and they’re wasting no time issuing strong reactions to the S&P downgrade. Both Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum took aim at the White House, with Romney saying the president is out of his depth when understanding how the private economy works and Santorum saying the government

Donald Trump bashes the "arrogant" Standard & Poor's. He says the downgrade was not necessary.

John Harwood, CNBC: "Do you feel that you or the administration's policies are in any way responsible for this downgrade?" Sec. Tim Geithner, U.S. Treasury: "Oh, absolutely not. You see, the President worked incredibly hard in making real incredibly progress trying to heal the damage made by this incredible crisis and you saw him work his heart

Keith Olbermann:" Is this an accurate layman's version of what happening, that investors are suddenly realizing that the debt deal guaranteed there is no government money to fuel a recovery here even just a token one in the near future?" Paul Krugman: "I am not sure that the investors -- there wasn't going to be much money anyway. So I am not su

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says Standard & Poor's has "terrible judgement and they've shown a stunning lack of knowledge of basic U.S. fiscal budget math." Geithner said Congress owns the credit rating because the Constitution gives Congress the power to tax and spend. "Congress ultimately owns the credit rating of the United Sta

In his opening monologue on Monday, Rush Limbaugh is clearly outraged by the downgrading of the US' credit rating by Standard & Poor's. Rush talks about President Obama's hand in the debt crisis, using words like Debt Man Walking, Obamageddon and Barackalypse Now. (All are word play using titles from movies.) You remember how [Plane