If Obama was Bush.....(if Obama has the chutzpah of Bush/Cheney) and he saw that the other party was going to block the debt ceiling increase and create a three ring circus of our legislative and financial process... he would made a power move....and have invoked the 14th Amendment months ago, in advance of this mess. He would have told the other party (with Cheney backing him) that he wasn't going to spend any time on that game. He would tell the world markets that checks will go out, because as the President of the United States, he has an obligation to uphold the good faith and credit of United States according to 14th Amendment. He would dare the other party to impeach or sue... and be done with it.
Think on this... would the Republicans really go thru with an impeachment or judicial action forcing the President and US to default? Their entire case would be to force a default by forcing the President to stop making payments to SS and veterans benefits.....I don't think Wall Street Power Brokers or the public would allow it regardless of how radical the right wing has become.
Remember... if they did that.... they couldn't really at the same time be negotiating our future budgets...the Repubs would be tying themselves into knots over going after the Presidents 14th Amendment move...and lose all momentum on the real fight over the future budgets and where cuts will and must take place.
And if they did mount an impeachment or judicial injunction...how far would that go...could that go?
I just don't see it going anywhere and the President would simply say to Repubs...Do what you want on this.....try to prove your case that I was wrong to pay the bills we have already committed to as a Nation.
Remember.... the Debt Ceiling has to do with paying the bills we already owe....to which we are already obligated. it has nothing to do with future budgets or cutting future costs.... the Repubs have simply tied them together... we won't let our country pay our obligations unless the Dems agree to our concept of future US budgets.