The clock is ticking on a deadline for Congress to raise the debt ceiling, but no breakthrough was in sight after a week of daily meetings at the White House.  Sizing up what he called "the craziness and chaos," Sen. Bernie Sanders assessed the options.  His No. 1 choice is a 50-50 deficit- reduction package that would match spending cuts with more revenue from the wealthy. As a practical matter, he allowed, "it ain't gonna happen." Another  option favored by some hard-line House Republicans would be to do nothing and let the United States, for the first time in history, default on its debts.  That "very bad" choice would result in untold economic consequences including widespread job losses and higher interest rates on homes and cars. "It is a bad deal. We must not default," Sanders said. Where's that leave us?
 
"I would prefer that we kick the can down the road," Sanders said, "that we do not make these savage cuts that the Republicans want in terms of Medicare, Medicaid, education, environmental protection, nutrition - you name it, they want to cut it - that we do not make the cuts that President Obama incredibly has brought forth in terms of cutting Social Security...and raising the eligibility age for Medicare."  
 
For more on how Sanders sees the situation, watch Thursday's Senate floor speech or listen to an interview Thursday on the Ed Schultz radio show.