Debt Talks Break Up After 50 Minutes

WASHINGTON -- A tense White House meeting on the expiring debt limit broke up after less than an hour today, with the president and leaders of Congress agreeing only that it was urgent to find a path forward this weekend, a source familiar with the meeting said.

Staffers were set to work through the weekend, in hopes of crafting a compromise that could avert the United States beginning to default on its debt starting Aug. 2.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a statement soon after the session that Obama wanted assurances that Congress would not let the nation become delinquent.

"The president wanted to know that there was a plan for preventing national default," McConnell said. "The bipartisan leadership in Congress is committed to working on new legislation that will prevent default while substantially reducing Washington spending."

The remarks hinted that leaders may be narrowing in on the plan McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had been working on, which would hand authority to the president to raise the debt ceiling in three stages, paired with spending cuts totaling about $1.5 trillion.

One obstacle to following that path is the president's desire for a larger package -- a so-called grand bargain -- that would at least last through the election season. Another is that many House Republicans do not like the McConnell plan.

Obama might have to back down, and enough Tea Party Republicans would have to conclude that default is worse than a smaller, though still large, cut.

The print pool report from the start of Saturday's meeting suggested it began extremely tense, but TV reporters who lingered just a little longer said President Obama broke the ice with a joke about golf.

"I think everybody agrees it's too hot to play golf today," Obama told House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), referring to their recent golf summit, which also did not lead to a breakthrough on debt negotiations.

Comments

[smburwick]

09:30 PM on 07/26/2011

Gee, all of you liberals are such students about George Bush. Too bad you weren't so smart concerning homework on the community organizer.

[Rudman44]

04:38 AM on 09/20/2011

Hey wickky ,,,,Geo WHO???? Oh the one who saw (in his dreams) WMD's ,,,,and the communities are organized very well as you will see in 2012.

[StopMakingSense2]

05:46 PM on 07/25/2011

What has the house passed this year? They shooting for least legislation award? Why are we still paying them to show up? Republicans always complain about how incompetent government is and then get elected to prove it!

[smburwick]

09:30 PM on 07/26/2011

The incompetent one is in the WH.

[Political Avatar]

12:54 PM on 07/25/2011

This is rediculous, you know why the talks fell apart? The GOP refused to give a 'win' to President Obama.

First they insist he negotiate this, then they keep asking for his plan, he does not need to have a plan he is the negotiator, his job was to has out the give and take part. This whole thing has been Kabuki theater, with the intention of making the president look bad, and it keeps on backfiring on them. They have dug themselves and America deeper into the trench, and they refuse to come out until they get what they want and only what they want:
Barack Obama, becoming unelectable.

This stopped being about the people a long time ago, the people keep saying they like the presidents approach. It stopped being about ideology a while ago, even the rank and file republican voters think loopholes should be closed and taxes raised on the rich. It stopped being about the debt ceiling a long time ago, they could have just passed it with no riders attached.
This is and has been for weeks about the republican party, needing a resounding win to increase there chances of ousting the president, and saving their own political necks. Frankly, I'm getting tired of it.

[smburwick]

09:32 PM on 07/26/2011

A win, you think the debt issue and spending is a win proposition? Do you remember an election in November? Do you have short term memory? And long term Bush derangement syndrome? Now you are blaming everyone for Obama's ineptness too?

[mynamesyow]

11:52 AM on 07/25/2011

Yo Recognize the Roots...
How did the Housing Market become so unstable??
Dont let the Baggers fool ya when talk about Clinton and the Freddie and Fannie.
the Idea for allowing the housing Market to Explod un-fettered while being tied to derivative markets was actually very clearly set into explicit motion with bush and the Cons signing "the American Downpayment Dream Act" in 2003.
Heres a great overview from NEWSWEEK 2008 : http://www.newsweek.com/2008/10/10/end-of-the-ownership-society.html

And a very telling quote: To achieve his vision, Bush pushed new policies encouraging homeownership, like the "zero-down-payment initiative," which was much as it sounds—a government-sponsored program that allowed people to get mortgages without a down payment. More exotic mortgages followed, including ones with no monthly payments for the first two years. Other mortgages required no documentation other than the say-so of the borrower. Absurd though these all were, they paled in comparison to the financial innovations that grew out of the mortgages—derivatives built on other derivatives

[CaptD]

01:07 PM on 07/25/2011

Fanned and Fav'd!
Thanks for posting some reality!
Don't stop

[smburwick]

09:33 PM on 07/26/2011

Bush was a social progressive.

[mynamesyow]

11:36 AM on 07/25/2011

We have a monetary system that is based on how much credit private banks/wealthy families are willing to end based on how much Itnerest they can collect in lending it.
During the formation of the United States the original Continental Congress and Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War printed and issued their own money based on the productivity and worth of the Ameircan Workers ability to create goods and services.
both times this system worked well until the same private banks and foreign banking flooded the market w counterfiet money in an attempt to make the money worthless, then when the resulting crisis happened they swooped in then bought up the govt printed money and took it out of ciculation and detroyed it so that only their own 'printed money' was around and worth anything. Effectively re-submerging the US Govt back into the debt bearing interest notes...
GOOGLE IT.
These days its the same idea, only done much more slyly and insidiously...
History always repeats until the Players are Removed.
Think.

[CaptD]

01:08 PM on 07/25/2011

Great addition to the above post!
You might also like the thread:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/19/japan-fukushima-reactor_n_902482.html

[fugmo]

09:58 AM on 07/25/2011

If this is the job that Congress performs, and we keep sending 95% back to Washington every election...well, we get what we deserve.

[chocolate cherries]

02:00 PM on 07/25/2011

You are so right. f & f

[smburwick]

09:31 AM on 07/25/2011

Sugarfree: I agree, both sides are to blame for spending. However, in the last two years it was Obama's policies and 'change' to spread the wealth that has ruined our economy. It all began with Clinton and Reno redlining for the housing market, and the Frank and Dodd said Fannie and Freddie were just fine. Then those lousy mortgages went to Wall St. and so it went to make the disaster in housing.Both sides are responsible. This is the result of years of planning. Google Cloward and Piven.

[mynamesyow]

11:40 AM on 07/25/2011

Actually George Bush signed the American Doream Downpayment Act in 2003 Which he explicitly signed and layed out as a way to give "Every American a chance to buy and own a home" depsite their income and this opened the gates for predatory loans to go Viral. Look up the Facts of the American Dream Act and read between the lines of what W. and his handlers was intending...
Educate yourself

LINK: http://www.newsweek.com/2008/10/10/end-of-the-ownership-society.html

[chocolate cherries]

01:39 PM on 07/25/2011

Smackdown!! f & f, yow!

[smburwick]

09:35 PM on 07/26/2011

He was in on this one too. Didn't vote vote him and didn't like his policies. The people who should be held accountable for this are Barney Frank and Chris Dodd--who is now a lobbyist.

[shadowgirl52]

09:30 AM on 07/25/2011

Where is the shared burden in this plan. I see no tax increase for the wealthy and bloated rich in it?

[chocolate cherries]

01:45 PM on 07/25/2011

The repub's idea of shared sacrifice is to cut the programs to the elderly to give more to the rich. Grandma can eat cat food at the end of the month...as long as the fat greasy Kochs get to eat caviar and steak. The repubs want an elitist country full of pompous arses with more money than scrupples...yet they claim to know Jesus personally. Jesus says he does not know them, and doesn't want to.

[Golemaximus]

04:49 PM on 07/25/2011

cc - You spew the same garbage of the worst elements in your party. Fear mongering and class warfare are your only weapons. Now you speak with deities! Next you will be accusing me of racism or bigotry. Predictable and hypocritical!

[smburwick]

09:37 PM on 07/26/2011

This administration has bastardized the meaning of shared sacrifice. Another from the Rules for Radicals. We could take all the taxes from the so-called rich, and the interest would not even be covered. Why don't we tax the rich who donated to Obama's 86 million? NOW that's a plan.

[Golemaximus]

09:30 AM on 07/25/2011

The Republican plan comprimised to the tune of 800 billion in new tax revenues but because it was to be obtained by elimination of tax loopholes and reform the Democrats couldn't boast of a victory and Obama tried to pull a fast one by adding 400 billion more. Obama needs to get the tax increases on the top taxpayers or lose votes he must have to win reelection. Where is the Democratic comprimise? For that matter where is the Obama solution? I like the President but he is not a leader of both parties or a competent leader of our nation. Vote him out!

[TheyAllSuck]

11:32 AM on 07/25/2011

Ridiculous. Obama doesn't need tax increases to retain votes. He needs to not dismantle 50 years of gov't programs to retain votes.

[CaptD]

01:10 PM on 07/25/2011

Right On
President Obama needs to go on TV and tell the public why we need a PLAN not a several month DEAL until the next somali pirate type ransom threat!

[CaptD]

01:11 PM on 07/25/2011

Fanned and Fav'd!
Please keep adding your voice !

[chocolate cherries]

01:50 PM on 07/25/2011

Comprimise??? Obama could not comprimise anymore. How could he be a leader of both partys, when from the time he decided to run the rethuggie baggers made it well known that the BLACK MAN should not be in the WHITE HOUSE?
Make those rich arses pay. Murdoch pays 0 in taxes, thanks to Bush's idiocy.

[Golemaximus]

04:03 PM on 07/25/2011

chocolate cherries - I have no problem with increase in taxes when the money is well spent. To contribute more to the current spending mess only perpetuates the fraud, waste, and wars. Fix spending before you raise money to continue taking taxpayers money! Raising revenues will not inspire our government to be more frugal or thoughtful.

[Rudman44]

04:43 AM on 09/20/2011

True,,,,and the man with no lips vowed that it was his agenda that President Obama would serve but one term. So much for working together.

[srooge]

08:17 AM on 07/25/2011

I heard his new custom set of golf clubs were ready for his approval. You must have your priorities in order.

[chocolate cherries]

12:19 PM on 07/25/2011

Priorities?? Lol...are you freaking serious? You think Boehner doesn't spend all his time on the links? Bush started 2 wars, and then was seen not only playing golf, but sounding like an insincere arsewipe.

Now watch this drive!
www.youtube.com

[srooge]

01:12 PM on 07/25/2011

whatever

[misterwolfy]

07:50 AM on 07/25/2011

Raise your hand if you don't realize that under Clinton taxes were far higher than today, yet the economy was purring along just fine as compared to today. We did not run a budget deficit. Revenues matter. Our government is our society, our infrastructure, and our security. You alone with you meager savings and your gun are nothing.

[whiskyjack]

08:13 AM on 07/25/2011

After all is said and done, we HAVE to raise taxes. If your extremely rich, the very LAST thing you want is to lose money. And if your a rich politician, the last thing you want is those extra funds from the extremly rich to dissapear. Therefore extend the Bush tax cuts. However, how can we get out of this without raising taxes?

[lipinwind]

01:10 PM on 07/25/2011

Hand Raised!!

[gravescanada]

07:42 AM on 07/25/2011

As Bill Clinton pointed out, Obama can end this now. Its called the 14th Amendmant section 4 "Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned." I would think the situation we are in is exactly the one covered by this part of the Constitution. Obama needs to issue an executive order and get it done now. Shut the GOP up on this matter, they cannt hold this nation hostage over the national debt, period.

[TheyAllSuck]

11:36 AM on 07/25/2011

Sadly, its only temporary measure. The Congress can merely decide to be deadlocked in the 2012 budget negotiation, and the same gov't shutdown and bond downgrading will occur. What invoking the 14th amendment DOES accomplish is to invalidate the political artifice that is the "debt ceiling" and to keep the POTUS from being "directly" responsible for a gov't default.

[lNSCOUT]

06:00 AM on 07/25/2011

GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT....obviously the only way this country will change is thru pain.....so I am willing to do my share......DEFAULT.........and do them in.

[rgilley]

06:39 AM on 07/25/2011

Exactly let the Republicans once again destroy the economy and maybey then American working middle class voters will wake up and rid America of this 30 odd year scourge of right wing republican conservatism that has transfered 90% of America's wealth to less than 2% of the wealthiest corporate elites! Republicans have turned the once great United States into a Bannana Republic in just 30 odd years.

[chocolate cherries]

01:34 PM on 07/25/2011

f &f! Repub voters are strange. My sister earns a whopping $20,000 a year, yet votes for the party that thinks she has too much...it is sickening.

[waynesmyer]

05:42 AM on 07/25/2011

TO POTUS OBAMA! TELL THE TEE-BRAGGING GOPers TO JUST GO "CHENEY' THEMSELVES! GET A SPINE OR RESIGN!

[ZeraLee]

04:05 AM on 07/25/2011

If the republicans get the short-term deal, we would go from this crisis to the budget battle, to another debt limit crisis.

They can have the government gridlocked and the economy on the edge of economic crisis continuously for more than a year. The massive uncertainty from that could easily start the double-dip, especially when the foreclosure problem still has life to it.

One way for the republicans to ride fear, chaos, and unemployment into the next election. No wonder they are accusing Obama of playing politics over the size of the limit increase.