Obama Calls Sunday Debt Meetings As Sides Remain 'Far Apart' (VIDEO)

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama announced on Thursday that he would reconvene debt talks with congressional leadership on Sunday, admitting that the two sides remained "far apart on a wide range of issues."

With the debt-ceiling deadline of August 2 looming, Obama met with those same lawmakers prior to making his brief remarks before the White House press corps. The president said that lawmakers understood the importance of completing negotiations promptly. He also praised them for demonstrating a "spirit of compromise" and for "wanting to solve problems on behalf of the American people."

Beneath the platitudes, however, it was evident that major hurdles remain. Obama even acknowledged that the "hard bargaining" had not yet begun.

"Staffs as well as leadership will be working during the weekend," Obama said. "I will reconvene congressional leaders here on Sunday, with the expectation that at that point the parties will at least know where each other's bottom lines are."

This weekend the group "will hopefully be in a position to then start engaging in the hard bargaining necessary to get a deal done," he continued.

Reports, indeed, suggest that negotiations had yet to yield detailed outcomes. The Washington Post reported Wednesday night that the White House was willing to embrace cuts to Social Security as part of a larger bargain on raising the debt ceiling. But administration officials insisted that nothing was new in their approach, the HuffPost reported Thursday morning.

"This story is really not news at all," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said at the briefing after Obama left.

"In fact, it essentially was written when the president delivered the State of the Union address. The president talked about being open to things to strengthen Social Security," Carney said, emphasizing that those things do not include slashing benefits.

The New York Times reported Wednesday night that GOP leadership was willing to sign off on, potentially, $1 trillion in additional tax revenues. An aide subsequently clarified that no such agreement was final and said that letting the bush tax cuts expire was firmly off the table.

On Thursday morning, the National Journal reported that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) had pegged the chances of getting a deal done within the next two days at 50-50. But the fact that lawmakers and aides are not set to meet again in the next three days suggests that wager was overly optimistic. Even Obama seemed eager to tamp down expectations. "Nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to," he said.

With Reporting By Jen Bendery

Comments

[smburwick]

02:44 PM on 07/09/2011

WestSeattle: shows how shallow you are. Speak several languages,studies South American History, worked with 200 Cuban families and social workers when Castro threw them out.

[smburwick]

02:42 PM on 07/09/2011

!/3 of all the repsonses I ever get is from people who don't follow news or read. Want to be that way. Stay---cause your party likes you in the dark.

[smburwick]

02:40 PM on 07/09/2011

Jannsmoor: go find Barry's transcripts from schools and prove that he even attended.

[smburwick]

02:37 PM on 07/09/2011

jr3: and the democrats thrive on making the problems. They never have a way of solving anything without costing Americans money.

[maserati2]

09:19 AM on 07/08/2011

Debt control is absurdly simple folks: cancel the Medicare budget-busting Pharma give-away that was signed by both Bush & Obama. Honestly discuss the financial advantages of a Single-Payer National Health Plan and then enroll our dedicated public servants in Congress including Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, Orin Hatch and President Obama in the same program, forcibly if necessary.

Take the Platinum ATM Card (the one with access to the National Treasury) away from our National War Machine Paymaster. Our privileged War Machine has proven affinity for extending the need, let's send the hired hands at Halliburton and Black Water to the end of the unemployment line.

Tie paychecks for everyone in Congress and the White House to our bank balance, until the Debit disagreement is resolved, no checks will be in the mail.

So easy.

[SueSueStraightTalk]

09:51 AM on 07/08/2011

Well put!

[maserati2]

02:40 PM on 07/08/2011

Remember folks, no money in - no money out. Spread the pain to those whose aim is to hurt - children and the disabled are least able to defend themselves. Why would they be the target?

[OlHippie]

09:18 AM on 07/08/2011

Famous Captains in American history:

Edward Smith - Titanic

Piero Calamai - Andrea Doria

Joseph Hazelwood - Exxon Valdez

Lloyd Bucher - Pueblo

Barack Obama - Ship of State

[Elijah A Alexander Jr]

09:15 AM on 07/08/2011

Ending the debt problem is easy, our governing officials can ignore their BRIBES not to hurt the untaxed corporation's profits obtained off our taxes and there is no problem.

1) Article 1, section 8 reads *all Duties [taxes], Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States* for repealing the rich tax exemptions will bring a $billion or more.
2) The Preamble''s *defense of the USA* prohibit defending the over 100 nations world wide, as does Amendment 2's *[this] fee state* and cuts the military budget by 50% when closing all bases and ports in foreign nations.

Those two actions alone would give us a surplus at the end of the year without cutting any services of the citizens. The only thing wrong with that is they loose their bribe moneys.

[Moses the Raven]

08:34 AM on 07/08/2011

9.2%

[Garyatty10]

09:33 AM on 07/08/2011

GOP ran on JOBS JOBS JOBS in 2010- havn't passed a single jobs bill. In fact I havn't heard JOBS JOBS JOBS out of the GOP mouths. Maybe they don't want JOBS JOBS JOBS.

[larmar]

01:17 PM on 07/08/2011

Well said!!

[preklow]

08:24 AM on 07/08/2011

YES KEEP OBAMA IN THE MIX,,,THAT PUTS HIS FINGER PRINTS DIRECTLY ON THE FAILURE WHEN IT HAPPENS

[lowrodiay65]

08:20 AM on 07/08/2011

The solution is simple, more tax cuts for the wealthy, end social security and meidcare to pay for the tax cuts for the wealthy. NOw that wasn't hard.

[eflow504]

08:19 AM on 07/08/2011

Republicans better take this countries warning and not bow to the democrats! remember what this country did in the midterm elections. democrats are a bunch of snakes in the grass with their deal making. just look at history with Reagan. that is their biggest battle cry today "Reagan raised taxes". yeah he did but was told by the democrats that for every dollar raised in taxes he would get 3 in spending cuts. well he got the raising taxes part but the democrats backed out of cutting spending.

[nothingchanges]

08:05 AM on 07/08/2011

In my personal opinion.

Americans just want to get this country back to WORK. We want jobs, and enough income to raise a family and pay the bills.

Politicians are less interested in having America work, then in having the debt "crisis" work.......to their advantage.

Using the misery that most Americans are going through for political gain is quite frankly.........despicable.

We have "the best Government money can buy" and it shows.

[notsmiling]

07:58 AM on 07/08/2011

I think Obama brought up Social Security just to shake things up. We've been listening to Republicans yammer about how they're not going to raise taxes even if Hell freezes over. It's probably going to after we default. I think this was a Peanut's stunt by the President where you make them think they're going to get to kick the football and then you pull it away. Obama knows the Dem are committed to saving Social Security and Medicare. Aren't you more than sick of Cantor and Boehner going on the TV blabbing about how they're not going to raise taxes because it creates jobs. Really! You got a date as to when that is likely to happen? I think Republicans want to crash the economy so we may as well see how committed they to performing economy suicide and political suicide. Looks like that is the case all right.

[mmonzeglio19]

08:59 AM on 07/08/2011

i agree with you, i think Obama has a plan, i think that all the times people like to say he caved shows a lack of foresight...nobody seems to want to acknowledge that there is a bigger picture than what is directly in front of their face. Obama probably threw SS out there so the republicans could see what kind of reaction it would create...he's making cantor and boehner look like children, he will end up looking like the adult at the table, and all you people crying on here need to suck it up and trust this guy, he's way smarter than all of us

[taeyyenom1]

07:56 AM on 07/08/2011

how many more times will obama betray the very people who have supported him. its time to start a grass root effort to find another person to run for president. what about drafting hillary clinton?

[MovieGuy2010]

12:23 PM on 07/09/2011

Hillary is totally burned out, no way she wants to mount a primary campaign.

History shows, ANY sitting President that is primaried loses in the following year.

Obama is on track to lose anyway, between these job numbers (NOT his fault) and kicking his base in the teeth (totally his fault) I have now come to believe, this is Romney's election to lose.

[fairtax2]

07:55 AM on 07/08/2011

Sunday is not a day of work in most areas of the USA. If they do work on Sunday then I think they should stay there till they pass the 2012 budget ( 24/7) no breaks on golf no trips