[Iran Press TV] US President Barack ObamaReady to Rule from Day One...
has blamed congressional Republicans for the so-called fiscal cliff deadlock, saying their refusal to raise taxes on the rich is the main obstacle to finding a solution to the looming economic crisis.
"They (Republicans) say that their biggest priority is making sure that we deal with the deficit in a serious way, but the way they're behaving is that their only priority is making sure that tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans are protected," Obama said in a prerecorded interview for NBC's “Meet the Press” program that was broadcast on Sunday.
"That seems to be their only overriding, unifying theme," the US president added.
Obama also warned that the failure to reach a deal on taxes and spending cuts would have serious consequences for the US economy.
"If people start seeing that on 1 January this problem still hasn't been solved, that we haven't seen the kind of deficit reduction that we could have had, had the Republicans been willing to take the deal that I gave them...then obviously that's going to have an adverse reaction in the markets," he said.
The president noted said the priority was to ensure taxes do not rise for middle-class families, saying that would "hurt our economy badly."
"That's something we all agree on. If we can get that done, that takes a big bite out of the fiscal cliff," he said.
In response to ObamaÂ’s comments, House Speaker John
It is not pronounced 'Boner!'Boehner
... the occasionally weepy leader of House Republicans...
issued a statement, saying Obama should not cast blame on Republicans for a possible failure to avert the nearing crisis and that the president was equally responsible.