Lo! The deadline approacheth! In New York, the bond traders shred their garments and gnash their teeth! In Washington, the Federal Reserve Chairman foretells a "huge financial calamity." The dollar is falling, the bankers are wailing, the President, it is said, is agitated.

When I flew to Los Angeles for the 1999 AEC Systems show, in which vendors showed all the latest and greatest cad and other software products to architects, engineers and contractors, my high school buddy Jim picked me up at the airport in his EV-1. It was an impressive vehicle, very sleek and stylish compared to the EVs I had seen before or had imagined from Popular Mechanics covers.  

Americans select dilithium crystals to power the next generation
 

In a Gallup poll released today, Americans chose dilithium crystals as the top choice of fuel to run both cars and power plants, with 84% of Americans choosing the crystals over other options including nuclear, hydrogen, corn ethanol, shale gas, and photovoltaic solar panels.

Over at TPM, the early response to Obama's presser seems to be that this was a political homerun for President Obama.  I get the logic here.  He used his bully pulpit to very clearly articulate that all of the debt ceiling obstruction is coming from the right.  He tortured House speaker John Boehner by praising his honesty and intentions, thus making the rest of the Republican party look a tad insane.  This could, as David Kurtz argues, cost the Republican some stature with the press, if not with vote