Tomorrow, the President will meet with the top leaders from both parties to talk about the debt limit. Expected at the meeting are Senators Harry Reid, Dick Durbin, Mitch McConnell and John Kyl along with House leaders Boehner, Eric Cantor, Nancy Pelos and Steny Hoyer. And, the President wants "something big":
President Obama on Tuesday rejected calls for a short-term increase in the legal limit on government borrowing and summoned congressional leaders to the White House to restart negotiations over a long-term plan to restrain the deepening national debt.And, my worry is that the White House will offer "something big" and the GOPers won't.
With an Aug. 2 deadline closing in, Obama urged lawmakers in both parties to break the stalemate that halted talks nearly two weeks ago and seize what he called “a unique opportunity to do something big” to rebalance the nation’s finances.
“There may be some in Congress who want to do just enough to make sure that America avoids defaulting on our debt in the short term but then want to kick the can down the road when it comes to solving the larger problem of our deficit. I don’t share that view,” Obama told reporters during a late-afternoon appearance at the White House.
With the surprise announcement, Obama sought to take charge of a situation that was rapidly devolving into a dangerous game of chicken: Republicans have refused to discuss any debt-reduction deal that includes higher taxes, while Democrats have rejected any deal based solely on spending cuts.
Those Republican leaders want Obama's presidency to fail. They're willing to tank the economy and the nation's credit rating to do that. The GOP's policies got us into this mess. They haven't lifted a finger to fix it. They only make it worse.
Republicans expect Obama to cave. Be great to see what they would do when he doesn't.
