Dangerous Debt Games

As the president prepares his State of the Union speech, he must worry that another regular Washington event will overshadow it: the vote to increase the national debt ceiling. But instead of concentrating on this figure, the president and congressional leaders should focus on the economy. That way, global markets—the real regulators of the debt ceiling—will be less likely to decide that we can't borrow any more, even if the pols say it's OK to do so.