Grand Bargain? Call Me...Maybe

Before yesterday if someone had asked me what the Grand Bargain was, I probably would have said 75% off a pair of Cole Haan shoes – that’s a pretty big bargain and wearing them does make me feel grand.  Yesterday, however, I was listening to a panel discussion on healthcare reform and one of the participants referred to the Grand Bargain.  Since I am pretty sure that there is no legislative policy around a really great shoe sale (sadly) I knew it was once again time for some research.

According to Merriam-Webster.com a bargain is “an agreement between parties settling what each gives or receives in a transaction between them or what course of action or policy each pursues in respect to the other.”  Which naturally makes a grand bargain a really, really big agreement of this kind.  That might be oversimplifying things a bit, but you get the idea.

The specific grand bargain referred to yesterday was the one that President Obama and House Speaker Boener had hoped to agree on back in the summer of 2011 to deal with the budget and deficit crisis.  While I was aware of the ongoing negotiations to compromise on everything from tax cuts to Medicare I had never once heard it referred to as the grand bargain (and trust me, the word bargain always makes my ears prick up).

My research (extensively conducted via Google) turned up several other grand bargains references from the past few months.  Ryan Crocker, outgoing US Ambassador to Afghanistan said there would be no grand bargain with the Taliban.  Tony Blair noted that a grand bargain is needed to save the euro.  Sociologist Amitai Etzioni proposed a NATO-Russia grand bargain.  There were many other instances highlighting recent use of phrase from politicians and pundits the world over.

Which lead me to my personal conclusion that Grand Bargain is the hot political term of this summer.  It’s like “Call Me Maybe” - that one song that takes over the airwaves each summer- but of policy.  It’s so catchy and interesting at first, but then it is increasingly overplayed, until you find yourself reaching to turn to a different station on the radio.  And like the summer song, a grand bargain without much substance it will get tired, and be replaced by the next new fluffy, pop-policy term. 

Take notes policy makers (musical notes, that is).  The only way to turn Grand Bargain from “Call Me Maybe” to “Satisfaction” is to “Come Together” and “Agree to Agree.”  So, come on, “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”