see, the market was afraid that even with a dearical, ame credit rating was going to get downgraded byncies like moody's and standard & poor's. america is currently rated triple-a, which means we're a very safe investment. plus, i believe we get free roadside assistance and discounts at participating hyatts. countries less likely to pay back their debt have lower grades. for example, greece now has such a low grade, it may be held back and forced to repeat the last 3000 years. [laughter] and lowering america's grade is bad news: >> interest rates could rise, and that could mean that you pay more for your mortgage-- >> the cost of buying a car could rise. >> credit card rates rise as well. >> if the us loses that aaa status, it will be much more fficult for the us to restore growth. so it's unambiguously bad. >> stephen: so these unelected elites get to wave their wall street wand and tank the economy? why? they're not special and rich. they're standard and poor! [laughter] no wonder they're so moody! [cheers and applause] you're welcome. i'll take that one. [cheers and applause] they a