Both were underestimated, with their detractors believing wrongly that public rejection of them had reached a tipping point and they could not win a second term.

WSJ: James Taranto: The Difference Between 43 and 44? Not So Much

Partisanship is destroying our legislative system and rejection of the Simpson-Bowles plan is case in point.

FORBES: Bowles: "We Are Going Over The Fiscal Cliff"