President Obama blasts GOP 'rigidity' in CNN interview

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http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/08/16/obama.cnn/index.html?hpt=po_t2

President Barack Obama placed the blame for Washington's current political paralysis squarely at the feet of his Republican opponents Tuesday, telling CNN that the GOP's "ideological rigidity" is standing in the way of compromises necessary for stronger economic growth.

In a wide-ranging interview with Wolf Blitzer, the president said the inability of GOP leaders in Congress to support a recent $4 trillion deficit reduction deal focused more heavily on spending cuts than revenue increases is evidence of a party placing political considerations before national interests.

Americans want to see "Democrats and Republicans putting country before party," he said. "The fact that Speaker (John) Boehner and folks in his caucus couldn't say yes to that (deficit deal) tells me that they're more interested in the politics ... than they are in solving the problem."

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"Ultimately, the buck stops with me. I'm going to be accountable," Obama said. But the president was quick to emphasize the "mess" he inherited from former President George W. Bush in 2009. He also stressed the economic drag created by state and local government layoffs, as well as "headwinds" from Europe's debt crisis, a tsunami-ravaged Japan and higher gas prices resulting from the Arab Spring.


video at link