Obama to lawmakers: Meet every day on debt deal

[brooklynite]

Source: MSNBC

President Obama told top lawmakers on Sunday to be prepared to meet every day this week to hash out a deal to cut the federal budget and raise the debt limit, a Democratic source with knowledge of the talks said.

The Democratic official said that Obama pressed Republicans at a White House meeting Sunday evening to aim for a broad, $4 trillion deficit-reduction package rather than a more modest one.

...snip...

Both sides remained divided over the size and the components of a plan to reduce long term deficits. Saying "we need to" work out an agreement over the next 10 days, the president and lawmakers agreed to meet again Monday.

Obama also sought to use the power of his office to sway public opinion, scheduling a news conference for 11 a.m. ET Monday, his second one in less than two weeks devoted primarily to the debt talks.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43701378/ns/politics-white_house/

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Announcing a press conference 12 hours in advance suggests that he'll have something more substantial to say than "shame on the Republicans; let's get back to work", but I can't imagine what it will be.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

1. He'd better think this over well. nt

[jaysunb]

2. Why ?

:shrug: seriously....

[Sarah Ibarruri]

3. Because what he might or might not say might be vitally important nt

[eShirl]

4. "Obama also sought to use the power of his office to sway public opinion"

What?! Who told him about the Bully Pulpit?

[BumRushDaShow]

9. And when he uses it, DU claims it's "Just a speech". n/t

[lumberjack_jeff]

5. "I quit."

hehehehe.

I try to go to bed each night with a happy thought.

[kath]

6. yeha, an LBJ type announcement would be nice - "I shall not seek..."

[lunatica]

13. You want a quitter like Sarah Palin?

[lumberjack_jeff]

19. No, I want his replacement. n/t

[lunatica]

10. We sure know where you stand don't we?

Here's hoping you go to bed each night quite unhappy then.

[lumberjack_jeff]

17. President Biden has a really nice ring to it. n/t

[plumbob]

7. GOLLY! Do you think they'll spend a WHOLE 80 MINUTES each day?

I'm just quivering with excitement!

No, wait, just a dry fart. Sorry.

[lunatica]

11. I guess you'd prefer he not use the bully pulpit

Obviously he's damned if he does and he's damned if he doesn't. It's a lot like how the Republicans think.

[plumbob]

14. No, I want him to use the bully pulpit. They used a whole 80 minutes

Sunday. For supposedly some of the most important talks in a generation.

An HOUR in a day? My students spend more time than that on their term papers.

Here's a prediction for you:

We'll go close enough to default for the ratings agencies to have an excuse to lower our ratings enough to significantly increase the amount of interest we'll have to pay on the debt. This will lead to much bigger profits for banks and other buyers of Treasury bills. Then some godawful cuts will be made (not to defense) in the name of disaster relief, as well as the sale of some federal assets, perhaps a park here or there that developers have their eyes on, certainly parts of the Interstate to be made into toll roads.

It's a prediction. Like any theory, if predictions made using that theory come true, reasonable theory; if not, modify and test again.

BTW, I don't think a lot like any Republican. In Texas, the Republican party came straight from the John Birch Society, that old group of racists that John Birch never heard of, that was started by Robert Welch. My grandfather was an organizer for the IWW in the 30s in the oilfields out here, and my dad was a founding member of the American Postal Workers Union. I'm a member of the American Federation of Teachers/AFL-CIO.

So yeah, I'd like to see more time spent on this than a half-assed term paper for high school.

[earcandle]

8. I don't get it. Raise revenues or raise the ceiling. Our constitution makes it a law to do so.

Why are these leaders pretending and acting like it isn't so?

[Locrian]

12. just you wait....

any minute there will also be a "strongly worded letter" coming out...

[Liberalynn]

15. Good one!

:rofl: :spray:

[Liberalynn]

16. IS a 11: A.M EST too early to play a drinking game?

I mean for every time the words "shared sacrafice" come out of the President's mouth?

Well I suppose it will be shared by the lower middle class and the poor.

The upper Middle Class and the Rich, and the uber Rich, got nothing to worry about, their well payed elected officials are working hard for them. :sarcasm:

[harun]

18. Unrec, Kabuki Theater.