Super Committee: Stick a Fork in It

If things looked bleak for the super committee yesterday, they're worse in the cold light of today: The legislators tasked with slashing $1.2 trillion from the national deficit will throw in the towel as soon as tomorrow, reports the Washington Post. The signs are ominous at best, with committee member Jon Kyl saying last night an agreement was "pretty doubtful," and seven members having booked appearances on today's talk show circuit, likely to begin the blame game. Over at Politico, Mike Allen reports that the committee hasn't met in three weeks.

The failure's effects will be grim and immediate, setting up a bitter year-end dogfight in Congress: “If the super committee fails, I think there will be a stark realization by every member of the US Senate that we’re at the end of the year and these complex challenges have not been dealt with,” says Sen. Pete Sessions. “It’s likely to be a really difficult period." (More Jeb Hensarling stories.)