Any political deal significantly before the debt-ceiling deadline would have exposed politicians to charges of betrayal from their constituents. And, given that President Barack Obama would ultimately be held responsible for a default, he needed the deal more than the Republicans did.
这些就是美国财政僵局的根源，而财政僵局造成了选民发自内心的对妥协的强烈的反对。任何在债务上限最后期限前所达成的政治妥协都会让政客背上背叛选民的恶名。而一旦违约，最终负责的将是奥巴马政府，因此奥巴马比共和党更需要妥协。于是，他必须强迫他所在的民主党接受只有支出削减、丝毫不见增税字样的方案。