Just think of how many little ideas it will take to hammer out each point of a grand bargain on economic policy.

FORBES: Racking Up Ideas, on the Cliff

On Wednesday, the prime minister said Britain was working with world leaders towards a "global deal and grand bargain" to deal with the economic downturn ahead of the G20 economic summit in London in April.

BBC: Call for new ?20bn economy boost

Had he taken them seriously before now, one can imagine the results: a faster economic recovery with lower unemployment, a popular form of health-care reform, a grand bargain with real spending cuts, a smaller deficit and declining debt-to-GDP ratio, and a less polarized Washington.

WSJ: Fred Barnes: Obama and the Back-to-the-Future Campaign