Friday, July 15, 2011

Various options for Obama, debt showdown foes in Congress

‘Don’t call my bluff,’ Obama urges GOP in debt showdown

WASHINGTON— The Associated Press


President Barack Obama bluntly told Republican congressional leaders Wednesday they must compromise quickly if the government is to avoid an unprecedented default, adding, “Don't call my bluff” by passing a short-term debt limit increase he has threatened to veto.
The presidential warning, directed at House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, marked an acrimonious end to a two-hour negotiating session at the White House that produced no evident progress toward a compromise.

Another round of talks is set for Thursday.
With a threatened default less than three weeks away, Moody's Investors Service announced it was reviewing the U.S. bond rating for a possible downgrade, and the Treasury said the annual deficit was on a pace to exceed $1-trillion (U.S.) for the third year in a row.
With the negotiations at a seeming standstill, Republicans drew a warning of a different sort, from an unlikely source: the party's Senate Leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
In an interview with radio talk-show host Laura Ingraham, Mr. McConnell warned fellow conservatives that failure to raise the debt limit would probably ensure Mr. Obama's re-election in 2012.Read more...

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