First video is the President: (via CNBC)
Second is of speaker of the House, John Boenher:
The Story via CNBC:
President Obama met with House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Harry Reid at the White House last week.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement that Reid’s proposal was a “reasonable approach that should receive the support of both parties.”
Obama, meanwhile, will address the nation at 9 p.m. EDT Monday about “avoiding default and the best approach to cutting deficits.”
Reid’s plan, unveiled Monday, does not include any new tax revenue, as President Obama has demanded. But unlike the GOP plan, it would extend the debt ceiling into 2013—an Obama ultimatum.
House Speaker John Boehner quickly dismissed the Reid plan as full of “gimmicks.” Boehner said the plan failed to make any real changes in the government’s spending and does not address the Medicare and Medicaid health programs for the elderly and poor or other benefit programs.
Republicans also are concerned that the cuts it contains would prove illusory, particularly $1 trillion or so in savings claimed by troop cuts in Iraq and Afghanistan over the coming decade. Reid countered that House Republicans claimed the same savings windfall when they passed their budget earlier this year.
Boehner forged ahead with his own plan to raise the current $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by about $1 trillion, along with commensurate spending cuts. That would require lawmakers to go through the painful process again next spring with an even larger debt and deficit package.
The second debt limit increase, which would continue borrowing authority through 2012, would be linked to a tax code overhaul and spending cuts for Medicare and Medicaid health programs for the elderly and poor as well as other benefit programs.
First off, let me apologize for the silence for the last 24 hours. I have had some family issues to attend to; and I was unable to blog. I was on twitter and those who follow me there, know what has been going on.
The problem here is this; this is a problem that the Democrats, while they were in control of both houses —- kicked down the road, so to speak. The Democrats simply did not want to have to deal with this issue; so, they “Kicked the can down the road,” so to speak — and let the next congress deal with this. So, now they are and now that Nancy Pelosi is basically been rendered irrelevant; the Republicans are the ones controlling this issue.
The real kicker is how President Obama, just shows a lack of real leadership. I mean, The Democrats are now out of power; and the Republicans want to actually work with the President — and instead of actually trying to work with them, President Obama wants to move the goal posts in the game. Sort of reminds me of another President that did such things, during the Iraq War in 2006; but I digress.
If the Democrats had handled this issue, when they were in the majority; we would not even be here. But, they kicked it down the road and now the Republicans are now handling it. The problem is, the outcome of this, is not going to please anyone, on either side of the aisle. There are things that are going to be cut; that no one is going to like. This is what happens, when a party abdicates its responsibilities. Democrats should learn from this experience here; and not do such things again. However, it seems as of late, that the Democrats have very short memories and simply will not learn from their earlier mistakes. Which is why they seem to lose a good number of elections these days.