CBS Early Show: Independents Talk with John Avlon and Margaret Hoover About the Debt Debate

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
Independent voters pin blame in debt gridlock CBS News VIDEO (CBS News)
"The Early Show on Saturday Morning" put together a panel of independent voters to address the question. They were joined by two analysts of different political stripes who happen to be husband and wife: Margaret Hoover, who was an aide to President George W. Bush and is the author of "American Individualism: How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party," and John Avlon, the senior political columnist for Newsweek and The Daily Beast.

Some of the independents were:
SUSAN SIMPFENDERFER, 48
JACK WYRICK, 28
MATT AMARAL, 23
JEFF STEVENS, 44
CANDICE HARRISON, 25
JESSIE FIELDS, 55
NICK JOHNSON, 62
SHANNA BROWN, 21
EILEEN KAUFMANN, 6

Deficit talks strain Obama's bipartisanship goals - He took office with a promise to overcome partisanship in the political process, but with debt negotiations apparently collapsing, the president's options are narrowing. (By Peter Nicholas, Washington Bureau, LA Times) But if no solution emerges in time to avoid a default, Obama may revert to a more partisan role rather than try to mediate between the parties.