Obama says he can't 'Jedi mind meld' a budget deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — A combative President Barack Obama blamed Republican lawmakers Friday for failing to stop automatic spending cuts from beginning to kick in late in the day, arguing he can't perform a "Jedi mind meld" to get Republicans to agree on a deal. But he and GOP leaders displayed no appetite for letting the fight shut the government down later this month.

Meeting on the day that $85 billion in federal spending cuts were to begin to take effect, the nation's top government officials made no progress on how to avoid what they all agreed would be damaging reductions in defense and domestic spending.

Obama conceded after the session that he hadn't been able to persuade Republicans to accept his proposal to reduce deficits with a blend of tax hikes and long-term reduction in entitlement spending.

Story Archived

Only the most recent 7 days of articles are available for free. For articles older than 7 days there is a small fee for retrieval from our archive. If you are a registered member of the site, the content is free just by signing in below.

Please sign in with your Comment Member ID and password.

Did you purchase access?

Member ID:
Password:
Forgot Your Password?
Register to comment.

Purchase Access
To allow for flexibility, we offer a variety of options for purchasing articles:
Purchase options


Having trouble?

If you have any technical difficulties, either with your username and password or with the payment options, please contact us by e-mail at archivedesk@shawmedia.com

Blogs

» Extra! Extra! - A blog by Chris Heimerman
Extra! Extra! - A blog by Chris Heimerman

Knowledge is power, right?

Bryan Frederick is a Lifestyle Medicine Instructor at CGH Medical Center, and he's got me thinking and re-thinking my approach to weight loss.
» Out Here
Out Here

Why the need for middleman?

The other day, we ran a story about the Dixon Tourism Board's website, which is hard to navigate and missing key information, particularly about the Petunia Festival. Are we wasting our time examining local tourism websites?

Reader Poll

Have you ever gone boating on the Rock River?

Yes
No