The Budget Control Act of 2011 - which President Obama signed - allowed the U.S. to keep paying its bills, like the U.S is some kind of adult or something. It also carried a ticking time bomb: big built-in federal spending cuts that would take effect by "sequestration" if Congress couldn't come up with a budget agreement on its own.
The blame goes to: Democrats, for thinking Congress could reach an agreement.

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Who on earth would come up with this terrifying "sequester" plan in the first place? President Obama has said the House Republicans did it. Republicans have said the White House did it.
The blame goes to: The sequester really was Team Obama's idea, but Republicans agreed to it initially. So blame everyone! (Except Anne Hathaway. No matter how much you hate her, you can't pin this one on her.)

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The Congressional "super committee" that was supposed to come up with a deficit reduction plan gave us nothing except a bunch of jokes about how they weren't so super.
The blame goes to: Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) for always insisting on sitting near the window. Also for failing to come up with a deficit reduction plan.

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Remember this guy? Here's a hint: his name is Mitt Romney, and in 2012 he lost the presidency, costing Republicans control of the White House.
The blame goes to: Mitt Romney, for (fill in the blank).

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Barack Obama signed a tax bill in January that delayed the sequester until March.
The blame goes to: The can, for not going farther down the road when it was kicked.

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Journalist Bob Woodward called President Obama a cheating McCheatypants for saying that any alternative to the sequester must include new revenues. That's code for "taxes." We all know how America feels about taxes.
The blame goes to: Bob Woodward, who has been hassling presidents since Watergate.

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Emboldened by Woodward's attack on Obama, Republicans doubled down, saying that none of this would have ever happened if the president weren't so stubborn (and if his wife didn't have such great bangs).
The blame goes to: President Obama. All those funds that are set to be cut would just go toward abortions and offensive public art installations.

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White House Press Secretary and noted man-child Jay Carney called Bob Woodward "willfully wrong" about revenues not being part of this whole deal in the first place.
The blame goes to: At this point, can we just say everyone in Washington, D.C.?

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