It's not even 6 pm yet (futures open time) and all that early optimistic momentum hard procured by splinter GOP Senators, is slowly but surely, being extinguished. Enter Dick Durbin, the second ranking Senate democrat:
- Even if budget agreement to avoid fiscal cliff is reached today, it would be tough to “put it together this evening,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., tells CNN.
- If deal reached, more likely to be made final tomorrow, he says
- Original terms of budget deal present “problem”
- Hopeful “common ground” can be reached
So let's set the ground rules for tonight's drinking game: since there will be much hope and optimism, as they are all that's left, and which will all be promptly squashed once reality reverts, every time someone says:
- "optimistic", do 1 shot;
- "not optimistic" - 2 shots;
- "cautiously optimistic" - 3 shots;
- "guardedly optimistic" - 4 shots;
- "encouraged" - 5 shots
- "hopeful" - 10 shots
- And, naturally, "Bush's fault" - chug the bottle
And now, sit back and look forward to the next rumor and kneejerk reaction, forgetting once more context that truly matters in tonight's theatrical "debate", which of course is what Ben Bernanke said on December 12, when asked what he would do if there is no Fiscal Cliff deal by January 1: "We would perhaps increase [QE] a bit."