Obama Warns 'World Is Watching' as Boehner Says GOP's Efforts on Debt Have Been Rejected

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Fox News:

President Obama on Monday night urged a "balanced approach" in crafting a deal to raise the debt ceiling, saying a Republican proposal to temporarily extend the debt limit would hurt students, seniors and the middle class by forcing Draconian cuts on government spending.

"That is no way to run the greatest country on Earth. It is a dangerous game we've never played before, and we can't afford to play it now. ... We can't allow the American people to become collateral damage to Washington's political warfare," the president said in a televised address to the nation.

House Speaker John Boehner, delivering the Republican response after Obama spoke, countered that Republicans have tried to cooperate but have been thwarted by the White House.

Obama stepped to the microphones a few hours after first Republicans, then Democrats drafted rival fallback legislation Monday to avert a potentially devastating government default in little more than a week. He said he wants tax increases paired with spending reductions that will put the U.S. debate past the next election and keep the country from defaulting on its loans to creditors, set to come due on Aug. 2.

"The entire world is watching. So let's seize this moment to show why the United States of America is still the greatest nation on Earth," Obama said.

Boehner -- delivering the first such live response aside from the State of the Union in nearly four years -- said Obama was looking for a "blank check" to fund his administration's "spending binge."

He accused Obama of not negotiating in good faith.

"I gave it my all. Unfortunately, the president would not take yes for an answer," Boehner said.

The speaker said Republicans have gotten legislation passed in the House, with some Democratic support, but the president has vowed to veto it.

"Over the last six months, we've done our best to convince the president to partner with us to do something dramatic to change the fiscal trajectory of our country, something that will boost confidence in our economy, renew a measure of faith in our government, and help small businesses get back on track," Boehner said.

Before his speech, Boehner said in passing to House security staff, “I didn’t sign up for going mano-a-mano with the president of the United States."
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Danger, Will Robinson! The president is in campaign mode!

Obama Debt Talk – First Thoughts
This didn’t seem like a president who was effective. It looked like a panic-stricken leader who was now hoping the like-minded ideologues across America can place enough pressure on Washington to enact non-sensical tax increases. It seems obvious, based on the president’s words, that he is incapable of moving the nation forward based on his “rigid” ideology.