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Stephen Colbert wrapped up this segment on our debt ceiling kabuki theater by explaining Mitch McConnell's brilliant strategy for putting an end to the negotiations.

COLBERT: Also, none of the above is the leading Republican presidential candidate. But McConnell... none of the above looks good. None of the above looks good to me. But, McConnell has a simple way out of this whole mess. To keep the Republicans from being blamed for raising taxes or defaulting, all they have to do is ask the President to submit a request to Congress to raise the debt ceiling. Then vote yes on a resolution disapproving of the thing they just asked the President to do.

Then Obama would veto the disapproval and since the Republicans don't have the two thirds majority to override a veto, the debt ceiling gets raised and the Republicans get to say they voted against it, twice.

Just like in the classic Jimmy Stewart movie, Mr. Smith gives up and starts shooting people. It's brilliant!

It's brilliant. The GOP gets everything they want, except everything they asked for, and Obama gets stuck with what he wanted to begin with. And McConnell has got their nuts out of that vice... by cutting their nuts off and leaving them behind for Obama to hang from his rear view mirror as an air freshener.