# Potus should postpone Asia trip **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 2, 2013, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potus-should-postpone-asia-trip/670193 "2013-10-02T17:17:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Clu-Me-In](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@Clu-Me-In](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clu-Me-In)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potus-should-postpone-asia-trip/670193/21 "2013-10-02T19:37:03Z")
Now I know he can sign it electronically. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potus-should-postpone-asia-trip/670193/22 "2013-10-02T19:37:47Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > But the account transferring will be exhausted by October 17th. If Congress does not raise the debt ceiling by then, \*\* Congress will default on paying for bills where the money has already been spent by Congress.\*\* (The personal equivalent is the failure to pay off completely your monthly credit card debt by the deadline. If you fail to do so by the deadline, your interest rates can skyrocket, the bank could demand immediate payment in full – but often doesn’t – and you could lose assets. ) Your post is very informative on the whole - thanks. I would question this one paragraph that I quoted. (I’ve seen a lot of other people make this same comparison and claim, although invariably people who are using it to argue against the tactic, which leads me to discount the claim just a bit.) ISTM that Congress doesn’t “spend” money in the sense that a person with a credit card does. The person is a consumer - they put charges on their credit cards for things that they consume - they eat food, buy products, go on vacations etc. The money that is spent is gone, and now they have an obligation to pay for what they’ve consumed. In the case of congress, they pass laws authorizing spending, but the money is not out the door yet. To the extent that they authorize spending via one law and then pull back that authorization by refusing to fund it, they’re certainly inflicting a lot of pain on the people who interact with them and need to understand what they’re really doing or who need to rely on these payments, but it’s not the same thing as not paying the credit card. What would be the equivalent is defaulting on the debt. But I don’t know that refusing to raise the credit limit is the equivalent of defaulting on the debt. Debt payments are a big chunk of the US budget but not nearly the majority of it, and if drastic cuts were made to other parts then the debt could be paid. All that said, I’ve not followed the nitty gritty of this too closely, so I could be wrong. Let me know. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potus-should-postpone-asia-trip/670193/23 "2013-10-02T20:11:43Z")
Moved to Elections from GD. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potus-should-postpone-asia-trip/670193/24 "2013-10-02T20:17:05Z")
> [@Clu-Me-In](#): > > I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t postpone this trip cos going makes him look almost as bad as the Repubs. They’re on vacation, he’s on a business trip. Not the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potus-should-postpone-asia-trip/670193/25 "2013-10-02T20:18:15Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Moved to Elections from GD. Waitaminnit, now, this thread is about **politics,** but how is it about **elections?** The OP never mentioned anything about how it would affect the 2014 midterms. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potus-should-postpone-asia-trip/670193/26 "2013-10-04T23:45:36Z")
Trip cancelled. > **[President Obama cancels trip to Asian summit | CNN Politics](https://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/03/politics/president-obama-cancels-asian-trip/index.html)** > > President Barack Obama has canceled a trip to Indonesia and Brunei due to the government shutdown, the White House announced Thursday night. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potus-should-postpone-asia-trip/670193/27 "2013-10-05T00:33:37Z")
> [@Ca3799](#): > > Trip cancelled. Is Fox News reporting that the cancellation makes Obama look bad? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potus-should-postpone-asia-trip/670193/28 "2013-10-05T01:48:56Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Is Fox News reporting that the cancellation makes Obama look bad? You say that like they have any other way to report any news whatsoever :). He could cure cancer and Fox’s headline would be “Obama backstabs domestic pharmaceutical industry”. If god almighty manifested just to give Obama a thumbs up, Fox would be criticizing the President’s apparent kowtowing to foreign interests. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potus-should-postpone-asia-trip/670193/29 "2013-10-05T15:48:25Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I’m pretty sure they have phones in Asia now. I don’t think this is going to be a problem. Obama was hired (elected) to do a job. Right now, I agree with the OP, if for no other reason than it makes Obama appear attached and concerned with the problem America is facing right now. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potus-should-postpone-asia-trip/670193/30 "2013-10-05T16:15:48Z")
It’s not cancelled, cancelled. He’s sending Kerry in his place, and Kerry is there now. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potus-should-postpone-asia-trip/670193/31 "2013-10-05T20:38:21Z")
> [@Clu-Me-In](#): > > and the Senate passes the CR clean The Senate HAS passed a clean CR, it’s the Republican House that refuses to do so. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potus-should-postpone-asia-trip/670193.md?page=1)