What Atrios said:

One infuriating thing about this is the apparent belief by many politicians that voters will reward them for making the economy even worse.

I know that, generally speaking, the deficit is something that polls around 3rd to 5th highest in priorities about what voters care about. That’s not nothing. But considering jobs and the economy usually poll number 1, it’s hard to imagine any voters rewarding the politicians who craft deals behind closed doors which cut social services, don’t make the rich share in national sacrifice, don’t create jobs and generally hurt the economy. Whoever is seen as most responsible for austerity, for wrecking the economy and for failing to create jobs will be voted out of office, even if their opponent is a ham sandwich. Considering the Republican presidential primary is effectively a field of ham sandwiches, President Obama should be scared.