The United States government is just four weeks away from defaulting on its debt for the first time in its history. Yet Republicans in Congress have shown more interest in sabotaging President Obama’s re-election (and the economy) than raising the debt ceiling and fostering an economic recovery.

In the midist of this political stalemate, The Nation’s Katrina vanden Heuvel argues on MSNBC’s Hardball that President Obama must stop negiotating with the extreme right and instead invoke the 14th amendment and order the government to continue paying its bills.

— Kevin Donohoe