In exchange for this he has to own up to across the board cuts. Who cares if he doesn’t get another debt ceiling increase vote. The cuts will be somewhere and the WH will own them. This would take a campaign issue away from the Dems.
The $1.8T cuts approved by Congress in Dec will be illusory, kicking in in the “out years” or counting things that were winding down anyway, like the wars.
What Obama will be able to say during the election is look, I “solved” the spending and debt problems together with the “responsible” Republicans, and it’s not an issue anymore [yes, you and I know that’s bs]. Now let’s talk about how racist my opponents are.