Nightly News   |  August 01, 2011

Debt deal kicks big issues down the road

NBC’s Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd has analysis on the politics behind the debt deal.

Share This:

This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>> analysis on the politics of what went on here, what's going on here, our chief white house correspondent and political director chuck todd . chuck, what just happened and for the folks watching tonight, they're going to want to know what's in it for them, what's not in it for them?

>> reporter: i guess the best way to describe it is the two parties decided to have a detente. they cut a deal that kicks the big debate and big problems down the road, and almost saves them for the 2012 campaign. what are those big debates? the issue of the growing entitlement reform problem that we have, this idea that, you know, we're living longer, more people on social security , more people using medicare. and then this issue of taxes, who should pay them, how much, what should the rates be? this deal doesn't touch either of those two big issues. and instead, in many ways, preserves them for both parties to use them as clubs to hit the other party over the head in 2012 . yes, it's possible the super committee, if they put on capes, could do tax reform , could do entitlement reform, but i talked to people involved in all these deals. they don't expect it. so the big problems, brian, been kicked down the road.

>> okay. of course, we had many blue ribbon commissions who have been given the same job, they come out with a report and washington keeps rolling along. chuck todd across town at the white house .