The fact that Barack Obama named Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles to head the new presidential commission aimed at reducing the national debt is not only a good thing. Their leadership is really a good thing.

Simpson is a straight shooter extraordinaire. As a Republican senator from Wyoming, he was known for bluntness and working across the aisle. And Bowles comes out of the business wing of the Democratic Party. As President Bill Clinton's chief of staff, he helped negotiate the 1997 balanced budget plan.

Put straight talkers who understand the deadly threat posed by deficits and debt in charge of a commission like this, and you have a shot at something meaningful coming out of it.

Yes, the 18-member panel's ultimate success also depends on the other appointees. That's why we hope Barack Obama and the Democrats and Republicans in charge of naming the rest of the panel seek out truth tellers.

The panel does not have authority to enact its recommendations. That's up to Congress, so it's good news that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have pledged to vote on the panel's recommendations.

At that point, legislators will need to muster the courage to make tough votes. Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee was spot-on when he told the bipartisan health care summit last week that it's one thing to talk about the deficit's threat and quite another to cast difficult votes, the kind that alienate voters.

And there is no way tough votes can be avoided. As much as Democrats will want to avoid sharp cuts in domestic programs, we can't get out of this mess without overhauling entitlement programs like Medicare. As much as Republicans would like to demonize any tax increase, we can't corral the budget deficit and, in turn, the national debt without one.

We expect to hear members of both parties keep making those points, but the people hold the ultimate trump card. We're the ones who need to stand up and demand realistic answers.

The facts certainly suggest as much. The national debt stands at $12.5 trillion. Left unchecked, it's on track to reach 100 percent of gross domestic product by 2022. And by 2014, the cost of servicing interest on that debt will outstrip all annual domestic spending, beyond defense and such entitlements as Medicare and Social Security.

This is an unsustainable path.

The Obama panel's goal is to get the budget in balance in five years, excluding how much we pay in interest on the debt. Sadly, the International Monetary Fund uses that standard for the poorest countries when it evaluates their fiscal health.

But we have to start somewhere, and this commission is it. Remember, anyone who tells you we can get there with only spending cuts or only tax hikes isn't telling the truth.