Thursday, July 14, 2011

Debt Ceiling Latest: Obama Gives "Leaders" 36 Hours for Way Forward

Apparently, Cantor kept his mouth shut during the meeting today. Note the wording "the path forward," which usually means they have to agree to agree and then work on the details.
President Obama told congressional leaders at their latest debt-limit meeting that they must come to an agreement on the way forward by early Saturday morning or else they will be called back to the White House this weekend, a Republican aide with knowledge of the meeting said Thursday evening.

At a “composed and polite” meeting that lasted 80 minutes, congressional negotiators and the White House finished their review of the work done by the previous group led by Vice President Biden, said the aide, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the meeting. At the end, Obama told the bipartisan leaders that he expected them to agree on a path forward “over the next 24 to 36 hours, the aide said. WaPo
Pelosi: Obama has the patience of Job. I don't compete with him in that regard.


I got a good chuckle out of this:
Boehner declined to criticize the president for the move, saying he was understandably “frustrated,” like the other leaders in the room. “I think it was — it was fine,” he said. “I think he decided the meeting was over, got up and left.”
Seems to me Boehner and Obama get on well, or well enough. It's just that Boehner has to deal with the ideologues in his party that need to get out in the real world and visit.