If I were Karl Rove and writing commercials for the Democrats, this is what I'd be compiling now:

• voice over quoting economists that not increasing the debt ceiling would create economic catastrophe


• quotes from Tea Party Republicans, including Michelle Bachmann, saying that they would not under any circumstances raise the debt ceiling. Examples:
  
  
  
  • Tea Party founder Jenny Beth Martin, "Do not raise the debt ceiling, it's that simple."
  
  
  
  • Rep. Allen West,
    
    

    "there's revenue that will be there, about 250 billion, that will allow us to prioritize and then take care of that debt interest payment, take care of our seniors and take care of our military as well."

  
  
  
  • Rep. Jeff Duncan:
    
    

    I will be voting against increasing our nation’s debt ceiling and against any attempt to raise taxes.
    



• The commercial would cut to a pictureof John McCain on the floor of the House with the text quotes, "The Tea Party Hobbits could return to middle earth" "bizzaro" and "that's the kind of cracked political thinking"



• It would close with the video of Obama's speech imploring the Republicans to pass a debt ceiling increase.
  

Politically, I can imagine such a commercial being toxic--paint the President as the one who wanted to negotiate, paint the Tea Party as the obstructionists. If you really wanted to sink it in, throw in a clip of Boehner looking sad as his coalition falls apart and he can't pass a bill even past his own Party and viola--you've turned out a political ad that I think can turn a pile of crap into election gold.