Media Malpractice on the Debt Debate   offer Republicans a deal
that is not only much farther to the right than anyone had
predicted, but also much farther to the right than most realize.
In addition to the rise in the Medicare eligibility age and the
cuts to Social Security and the minimal amount of revenue, it
would cut discretionary spending by $1.2 trillion, which is an
absolutely massive attack on that category of spending.  In the
New York Times (7/15/11), Paul Krugman writes:  President Obama
has made it clear that he's willing to sign on to a deficit-
reduction deal that consists overwhelmingly of spending cuts,
and includes draconian cuts in key social programs, up to and
including a rise in the age of Medicare eligibility. These are
extraordinary concessions. As the Times's Nate Silver points
out, the president has offered deals that are far to the right
of what the average American voter prefers –in fact, if
anything, they're a bit to the right of what the average
Republican voter prefers!  The conv