Red Ink Rising.

"We have no choice but to approve it. If we fail to raise the debt ceiling soon, the U.S. Treasury will default for the first time in its history." Here we go again: The Senate votes 53-42 to raise America's debt ceiling by $850 billion "to $9.815 trillion, the fifth increase in the U.S. credit limit since President George W. Bush took office...[This,] the second largest since Bush took office, should be enough to last the government through next year's congressional and presidential elections. U.S. debt stood at about $5.6 trillion at the start of Bush's presidency."