Katie Couric's Notebook: Political Courage

If you had a serious illness, you'd probably want your doctor to give it to you straight.

But our representatives in Washington don't seem to grasp that. They refuse to take bold steps to get our financial house in order by administering the tough medicine we may not like but the country needs.

The nation's nearly $14 trillion dollar debt is widely considered a grave threat to our economic future.

The debt commission came up with some ideas that weren't politically palatable... Congress still hasn't reached a deal on tax cuts. "Not in my backyard" -- or NIMBY -- has been replaced with NIMR -- or "Not in my returns."

My colleague Bob Schieffer aptly said, "As long as both sides see compromise as political suicide, nothing is going to happen."

So it's our job as voters to appreciate the need for sacrifice and to reassure our politicians that we'll stand behind them if they require it of us. If we don't., all we'll be left with is an economic diagnosis and no hope of a cure.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.

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