B.O.Obama met with congressional leaders Saturday for last-ditch White House talks on forging a deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling, officials said.
The talks with Democrats Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid... the charismatic senator-for-life from Nevada, currently majority leader ...
and House Democratic Leader Nancy
San Fran NanPelosi
Congresswoman-for-Life from the San Francisco Bay Area, born into a family of politicians. Formerly Speaker of the House, but it's not her fault they lost. Really. Noted for her heavily botoxed grimace...
as well as Republican House Speaker John
It is not pronounced 'Boner!'Boehner
... the occasionally weepy leader of House Republicans...
and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell broke up after about 50 minutes.
Vice President
Joe Foreign Policy Whiz KidBiden also participated in the Cabinet Room meeting which came just a day after talks collapsed as part of efforts to avoid an August 2 debt default.
| Which is likely the reason why it lasted only 50 minutes... |
Obama called the emergency White House summit late Friday after the talks on forging a compromise blending ambitious deficit-cutting plans with raising the $14.3 trillion U.S. debt limit broke down amid angry finger-pointing.
Ahead of Saturday's negotiations, Obama renewed his demand that any final deal raise tax revenues from the rich and wealthy corporations, a proposal fiercely opposed by his Republican foes who quit the talks over the issue.
"That's the heart of this approach: serious cuts, balanced by some new revenues," the president said in his weekly address, forecasting "plenty of haggling over the details in the days ahead."