President Obama established a bipartisan debt commission today by executive order, after it was voted down by the Senate.  He began his comments with a reminder of what he faced entering the office of the Presidency, saying that when he took office, the government was spending 25% of GDP and only bringing in 16% of GDP.  Its obvious that this level of spending can't be continued indefinitely, but he did defend the Recovery Act, as the latest analysis of the stimulus shows that it did its job stabilizing the economy.

In the face of overwhelming debt, and a Congress too ideological and concerned with getting re-elected to make the tough choices, the President announced Alan Simpson (Former Republican Wyoming Senator), and Erskine Bowles (Former Clinton chief of staff), as the chairs of the commission.  As for the panel itself, there will be a total of 18 members of which, 4 will be chosen by the President (2 R's and 2 D's),  6 chosen by GOP leaders in Congress, and 6 chosen by Democratic leaders in Congress.

It's too bad that the Senate voted down the commission because it would have had power over what Congress had to do in the future, but as it stands, this commission will have to do. 

Watch the President's remarks below: