Editor's note: David Gergen will appear on AC360° at 8 p.m. ET to weigh in on the super committee's negotiations and today's political hot topics.
David Gergen is a senior political analyst for CNN and has been an adviser to four presidents. He is a professor of public service and director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Follow him on Twitter: @David_Gergen.
Cambridge, Massachusetts (CNN) - Have they gone nuts in Washington?
Last summer, as the debt ceiling debacle ended, our political leaders held out high hope that a "super committee" would meet for 10 weeks this fall and forge a bipartisan agreement that would do far more to bring down the nation's deficits.
Everyone knew that members of the committee had deep differences.
Republicans complain that federal spending under President Obama has gone up dramatically and cuts should come there before any new taxes.
Democrats say that the rich have increased their wealth much more rapidly than the other 99% of Americans, while their taxes have gone down, so that the first order of business is to raise taxes on them. Both sides have valid points, worthy of debate.