WALTER RUSSELL MEAD: Obama Nails His Blue Colors To The Mast. “The past few years have seen a number of blue-state Democratic governors—from California to New York to Vermont—driven by dire fiscal situations to attack the blue model. Yet this tide of reform washing over the Democratic Party at the state level still hasn’t gone national. . . . The difference between national and local Democrats on this issue has a lot to do with printing presses. States don’t manage their own currencies and so can’t run up debts like the Feds. Governors and mayors have been disciplined by reality: when there isn’t any money, you have to learn to do more with less (and in some cases, you just have to do less).”

The Gods Of The Copybook Headings are still there. Printing money just puts off the reckoning, while interest accrues.