(CNSNews.com) – The Washington Post Web site is ticking down the days, hours, minutes and seconds to the debt ceiling deadline – the moment on August 2nd when the Obama administration says the U.S. government will be forced to default on its legal obligations.

In fact, it will be up to President Obama to choose which bills to pay and which not to pay. Default is an option, but it’s unlikely the administration would refuse to pay the interest on the national debt.

The U.S. Treasury, however, is sounding an alarmist note. If Congress fails to increase the U.S. credit limit, “the government would have to stop, limit, or delay payments on a broad range of legal obligations, including Social Security and Medicare benefits, military salaries, interest on the national debt, tax refunds, and many other commitments,” the Treasury Department says on its Web site...