For Deficit Talks, the $705 Billion Bipartisan Solution: View

Much has been made of the idea of President Barack Obama reaching a grand bargain with Republicans on a deficit-cutting package. Just this week, 60 business leaders and former officials urged the congressional supercommittee to “go big” by adding trillions more to its deficit-reduction target of $1.2 trillion.

It’s a laudable goal, one we have endorsed in the past, yet with elections only 14 months off increasingly unrealistic. Instead of aiming for the sun, the White House and lawmakers should settle for a planet, even a moon. They should find the areas of agreement -- yes, there are quite a few -- and incorporate them into a package. Such a mini-deal would go a long way toward restoring faith, at home and abroad, in the U.S.’s ability to govern itself.