As well it should be. Obama is handling these negotiations so clumsily, it’s hard to imagine he’s doing anything but cynically orchestrating an economic crisis so he can blame it on Republicans. Nothing the man does is in good faith. Nothing he does is done with the good of the country at heart.
First, here’s John Boehner’s comments from his press conference after the talks failed.
Text via Hot Air:
“The White House moved the goalpost,” Boehner said in a news conference, claiming that the talks broke down when the White House demanded an additional $400 billion in new revenues to the $800 billion that was agreed upon, “which was going to be nothing more than a tax increase on the American people.”
Boehner also said, “They refused to get serious about cutting spending and making the tough choices that are facing our country on entitlement reform.”
In a hastily arranged news conference in the White House briefing room before Boehner spoke to reporters, a visibly irritated Obama said that “it’s hard to understand why Speaker Boehner would walk away from this deal.”
“This was an extraordinarily fair deal,” he said, explaining that the White House offered more than $1 trillion in cuts to discretionary spending, both domestic and defense and $650 billion in cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security in exchange for $1.2 trillion in new revenues.
After informing the president in a phone call of his decision to walk away, Boehner sent a letter to lawmakers saying, “In the end, we couldn’t connect. Not because of different personalities, but because of different visions for our country.”
Obama gave his usual peevish, pretentious polemic. Yes, pretentious – he wants us to believe that he, the Keynesian genius, whose blizzard of spending got us into this unholy, “shovel-ready” mess, is more serious about debts and deficits than Republicans.
It’s almost too much for a sane person to take.
The Hill summarizes:
The president, in possibly his most emotional and stern appearance to date, said in no uncertain terms that he is summoning congressional leaders to the White House on Saturday morning.
“I want them here at 11 o’clock tomorrow,” Obama said. “We have run out of time, and they are going to have to explain to me how it is we are going to default.”
Obama’s fury toward Boehner was on full display as he several times accused the Speaker of walking away from the talks.
“I’ve been left at the altar now a couple of times,” Obama said.
The president was angry on a number of counts, but he seemed especially miffed by Boehner’s refusal to communicate with him on Friday before he walked away from the table.
Obama said he had a “cordial” relationship with Boehner “up until sometime today when I couldn’t get a phone call returned.”
…To that end, Obama questioned “how serious” Republicans are about wanting to address debts and deficits.
“Or do you simply want it as a campaign ploy going into the next election,” the president said.
Classic liberal projection. Obama’s the one who’s trying to benefit politically from this. And he has a hell of a nerve questioning how serious Republicans are after putting out a budget in February that was so unserious, so lacking in deficit reduction it was unanimously rejected in the Senate 97-0. His feigned concern over the debt, after his maniacal 2 1/2 year spending spree is profoundly unconvincing, to say the least..
Via Drew at AoSHQ, here’s Senate Republican Leader, Mitch McConnell’s statement following Friday’s debt talks:
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement Friday regarding the announcement that Speaker Boehner will work with the Senate Leadership on deficit reduction legislation:“It’s disappointing that the talks with the White House did not reach a favorable conclusion, and I appreciate the Speaker insisting on reduced spending and opposing the President’s call for higher taxes on American families and job creators. It is similarly disappointing that the White House has refused to join Republicans in our effort to cut Washington spending now, cap runaway spending in the future and save our entitlement programs and our country from bankruptcy by requiring the nation to balance its budget. Speaker Boehner has informed us that he will work on a new path forward with Leader Reid to develop a solution that will prevent default, without job killing tax hikes, while substantially reducing Washington spending.
“As I’ve said before, it’s time now for the debate to move out of a room in the White House and on to the House and Senate floors where we can debate the best approach to reducing the nation’s unsustainable debt.”
Team Boehner fights back.
WH flip-flopped after Gang of Six, walked away from key areas of potential agreement … is that leadership, Mr. President?
See Also:
Freedom’s Lighthouse: Krauthammer Slams Obama for Angry Press Briefing: “This is Obama at His Most Sanctimonious, Demagogic, Self-Righteous and Arrogant” – Video 7/22/11
