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Pete Souza/Official White House photo
President Barack Obama is interviewed by David Gregory of NBC's "Meet the Press" on Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012 in an official White House photo by Pete Souza.
As the hours remaining for action dwindle, Washington and the nation prepared to hear more from President Barack Obama about the outlines of an acceptable deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff while Democratic and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill labored through what would normally be a relaxing holiday weekend.
After tasking the Senate with generating a compromise that would avert the onset of across-the-board automatic tax hikes and spending cuts on Jan. 1, the president was set to address some of the trade-offs he might accept in an interview Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."
President Barack Obama meets with NBC's David Gregory on Meet the Press Sunday morning. Gregory explains that for the president, this has become a matter of principle.
The round-the-clock talks were the byproduct of a meeting at the White House on Friday between the president and congressional leaders from both parties as the urgency to avoid the New Year's Day deadline increases. Those discussions produced a shift between the generally unilateral negotiations between Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and toward new negotiations between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and his Republican counterpart, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
PRESS PASS: Obama on 'Meet the Press' in Sunday exclusive
For his part, Boehner has demanded that the Senate act first to produce legislation, on which he said the House would act — to either approve or amend it.
But the Saturday negotiations between Reid and McConnell appeared — outwardly, at least — to yield little in the way of consensus. Obama said Friday that if the Senate leaders could not strike a deal, he would ask Reid to advance bare-boned legislation that would preserve tax rates on income under $250,000 and extend expiring benefits for the unemployed.
Related: Senate leaders work to beat fiscal cliff clock
A Senate Democratic aide said Saturday afternoon that Democrats were preparing to move ahead with that very plan and were not particularly optimistic about the prospects of reaching an accord with McConnell, whom they characterized as offering proposals he knows the Democrats will not accept.
Reid did not go to the Capitol on Saturday, the aide said, and talks played out primarily at a staff level and talks were expected to continue.
A Senate Republican aide, meanwhile, cautioned against expecting an announcement or news before tomorrow afternoon, at which point senators will be briefed then about the weekend talks. The House will also return for work on Sunday evening, around 6:30 p.m. ET.
"We have been in discussions all day, and they continue. And we will let you know as soon as we have some news to make," McConnell told reporters Saturday as he left the Capitol. "We have been trading paper all day and talks continue into the evening."
NBC's Mark Murray explains the "blame game" that would ensue in Washington should the U.S. go over the "fiscal cliff."
With his interview Sunday morning, Obama might look to add a new sense of urgency to the last-minute negotiations to avoid the fiscal cliff, which itself is an outgrowth of lawmakers' inability to reach any consensus in the past two years about how to address taxes and the rising national debt.
Related: More coverage of 'Meet the Press'
Obama led Democrats this year by campaigning for re-election on allowing the 2001 Bush tax cuts — which the president in 2010 agreed extend for two years past their original expiration date — to end for the wealthiest Americans. Republicans struck conciliatory notes after Obama's victory in November, but that language has given way over the course of negotiations to more familiar sniping over taxes and spending.
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Who really cares what Obama has to say?
His greatest failing is that he only wishes to be the leader of 51% of America. He had no prior leadership experience, so he doesn't understand that he needs to leave some food on the table for his opponents too.
If he had a 70:30 majority perhaps he could get away with his my-way-of-the-highway approach, but with the split being more like 52:48 there is no way it can work. The US Government is NOT like the military. The guy on the top doesn;t just give orders and everyone has to follow them. The founders of our country were clever, and created a unique system that actually forces a majority to include the minority viewpoint in all decisions. Things change gradually, not all at once.
Obama CAN get a deal in his favor (55:45), but if he continues to be arrogant and demanding he is going to drive the country of the cliff and into a civil war.
Who cares about the Orange Boner?? I mean really. his own party won't work with him!
Recall his "Plan B" abortion pill?????
Obama, Obama, wherefore art thou Obama. Deny thy party, and refuse their agenda.
Or, if thou wilt not, be but a sane sworn President.
Make a deal, stop the BS!
It's not about the 2% and the taxes they will pay, it is about every American and the debt we carry...and the improvements to the economy we all need. Stop focusing on taxes for 2%...and get a deal done.
In America's 236 year history, there has never been one President, Congressperson or Supreme Court Justice that has ever made any attempt whatsoever to "take away your 2nd amendment rights". And there still isn't.
Why do you goosesteppers feel compelled to fear something that never happens?
My father fought the goosesteppers and lost his left leg as the reward. Keeping you, the goosestepper worshippers out of my life, and my family's life, is paramount. Now go read a history book, sparky.
The same gang that took over Russia 90 years ago has taken over America today and they want your guns! It was 28 yesterday but it will be 28,000,000 tomorrow-if they get the guns from the people:
"We must turn Russia into a desert populated by white negroes upon whom we shall impose a tyranny such as the most terrible Eastern despots never dreamt of. The only difference is that this will be a left-wing tyranny, not a right-wing tyranny. It will be a red tyranny and not a white one. We mean the word ‘red’ literally; because we shall shed such floods of blood as will make all the human losses suffered in the capitalist wars pale by comparison. The biggest bankers across the ocean will work in the closest possible contact with us. If we win the revolution, we shall establish the power of Zionism upon the wreckage of the revolution’s funeral, and we shall became a power before which the whole world will sink to its knees. We shall show what real power is. By means of terror and bloodbaths, we shall reduce the Russian intelligentsia to a state of complete stupefaction and idiocy and to an animal existence." Trotsky (1917)
— From the ‘Memoirs of Aron Simanovich’, quoted in The Nature of Zionism by Vladimir Stepin, Moscow, 1993, and translated from Russian into English by Clive Lindhurst.
When the Reds occupied a city, they took hostages — such as people wearing ties or workers in their Sunday best. They stripped them naked and then bound onto the stomach of the murder victim an empty flowerpot into which a ravenous, starving rat was placed. Through the small water hole in the base of the flowerpot a red-hot iron rod was pushed to torment the rat and make him wild, causing him to try to burrow himself away from the rod — and deep into the abdomen of the horrified human victim.
They lined up other victims in military formation, and then ordered the first row to place one hand upon a wooden table. A nail was driven through the hand into the wood. Then they cut a full circle around the wrist skin, drenched the hand in boiling water and pulled the hand and finger skin right off. This they called "making gloves".
Those fated to suffer the same death the following day were ordered to pick up the brain and bone pieces, the nerve tissue and blood which they witnessed flying around the room. When ordered to their work they were told: "You are digging your own grave. You must be happy that tomorrow your own kind will be picking up the pieces of your cadavers."
As for men of the cloth, they would bring priests into a church, marry them with a sow or mare in a sarcastic ceremony and then nail them to the cross over the altar. The bishop of Voronesh was plunged live into a giant kettle of boiling water and his monks were forced at revolver point to take spoonfuls of this "soup".
High-ranking clergymen had their eyes gouged out, the tongue severed, and the ears sliced off. Then they were buried alive.
Or their abdomen was opened with a knife and the first section of their intestines was nailed to a telephone pole. They were then forced to run around the pole as their entrails unwound until death came. Officers of the Russian navy were steamed to death in their own engine rooms. They were chained to cement blocks and hurled off the piers so that their tethered corpses, decomposing and rising under the waves, formed hideous, tossing forests of the dead.
General Viren of Kronstadt had both his arms hacked off and was then paraded around the downtown area until it became boring, whereupon he was shot. Human beings had burning cigars pushed into their open eyes until they were blind, their entire body being roasted on spits. Heads were squeezed slowly to the bursting point with special brain vises. The German Army discovered a chamber full of these and similar devices, including a testicle-cracker, in an underground chamber in Ukraine in 1941. Adapted dentist drills were used to drill deep into the brain. They sawed off the top of people’s skulls and forced others to eat their brains, whereupon the eaters then came under the saw and in turn had their own brains eaten. [Paraphrased] Entire families were arrested and children tortured before the eyes of their bound parents, or the wife was tormented before the eyes of her husband or the reverse.
The Bolsheviks drove nails into empty wooden barrels, and then jammed human beings inside, rolling the barrels around merrily.
Mass graves of people buried alive were found by the White Army. Victims of live burial usually have dirt in their mouth and nostrils from trying to breathe. The writhing bodies of these people were found in the most bizarre contortions.
GOSH he must have loaded up on one of the huge Costco rolls of tinfoil. (Now if only he'd get a good deal on some haldol)
L M A O
How could this idiot president sign an executive order giving pay raises to Biden, Congress and all federal employees? What is he thinking?? He should be reducing our do nothing congresses pay!!
SPENDING CUTS!!! NOT PAY RAISES!!!
HE DID NOT! Fox lies again????
It appears that he did give everyone a raise.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-orders-raise-biden-members-congress-federal-workers_692223.html
Why is the Dick Gregory not in jail? He broke a huge law, even after being told not to by the police. Must have something going with the President... ya think?
Why doesn't Obama just go out and make one of his smiley, blame everyone else flower speeches? Why the need to showboat on a talk show with a bunch of goofy trumped up pre-arranged questions and answers? Is there nothing real in the presidents world?
Why didn't President Bush (Sr.) get thrown in jail when he held up a bag of crack cocaine while giving a speech from the White House that he said was purchased across the street??? A bag of crack that was specifically purchased to be used as a prop for a Presidential speech.
JFix, that stupid talking point, which was originally prompted by a DNC spokesperson a week ago is kind of worn out. And it makes no sense. Bush was holding evidence borrowed from the police and under the care and custody of the DEA. Gregory was told he could not bring an assault rifle or magazine into the city by the police who flatly denied his request. Gregory and the above the law gang at NBC went out and got their own stuff and brought it to the show. He also had more than just the magazine with him, but chose only to show the magazine on camera. He and his cohorts should be looking at some very serious jail time according to D.C. gun laws. But hey, if you let the President on your law breaking show the next week, all is fine in Hooterville.
The ATF told him it was OK. Metro PD was lost!
Not true. It was passed along to the D.C. po po for review, and then denied. Get those facts straight.
We have had 4 years of hell and now we we are in for another four years of dooming hell. President Obama is not presidential.
Obama is suppose to show leadership but he has none, he wants taxes to go up on everyone so he will have more spending money.
It's a win-win situation for Obummer. Taxes go up on everyone (more revenue to SPEND), no real tax cuts and the best part...he can point his finger at the the republicans and say "you did this".
Sharrieannie, you are right about that. Perfect wager, can't lose.
The end is truly at hand! This 112th congress failed grossly at their job of protecting and helping the middle class. They have known about this for over a year! Gross incompetence and ineptness on a grand scale! It's not that they cannot agree on the merits of the issue it's that McConnell now has the distinct honor of failing personally to deliver any good news to the president. McConnell who vowed on Obama's inaugural to make him a one term president will have something to say and do to help or hurt Obama. With the president's impressive severe thumping of the TEA-Republican's in November and besting Romney-Ryan. Harry Reid is a master tactician and he can force up or down votes that will definitely show everyone who's on first! This is an exciting time in that every TEA-Republican will be placed in a position up or down on key issues and topics on topic after topic. And before it's all over, we the voting public will have an accurate view who supports the middle class and who doesn't. And the 2014 Mid-term elections is a-coming! The fiscal cliff will produce major across-the-board spending cuts as punishment for Congress' gross failures to compromise. Sequestration was agreed to and signed by leaders of the party with the fringe on top. A $503 billion dollar cut in programs by September 2013 and $700 billion for 2013 calendar year. This includes expiration of Bush era tax cuts on income, investments, married couples with children and inheritances. Twenty-six million taxpayers will face the alternative minimum tax raising an average of $3,700.00 or $330 billion through September 2013. Additionally, a 9% cut in defense and a 2% cut to Medicare providers. Wake up, America! Get involved! The 2014 Mid-term elections is a-coming!
Your mistake is assuming that the role of the federal government is to protect and help the middle class. Just about everyone can agree on the federal government having a role in creating a safety net to protect the least fortunate among us. That does not include the middle class as we cannot afford it.
Obama has already "weighed" in. The weight of debt this country is carrying is getting heavier by the minute. He duped people into voting for him not once, but twice. He is the best con artist i have ever come across. A majority of the people who voted for him will NOT be affected by the so called cliff. Taxes going up for those who don't pay any in the first place is a moot point. Taxing the rich (the smallest population) is not the answer. A flat tax on ALL Americans is the way to go, then EVERYONE would be paying their fair share. Many not only pay NO taxes, but receive the EIC, so the government pays them! Obama does NOT have the best interest of this country at heart. never has, never will.
If you ARE a pastor, you'd better be asking God for forgivness for bearing false wittness against your neighbor, and then resign your pulpit.
I, unlike others, do not just make up a screen name. I am not the one who needs to ask forgiveness. My statement is factual. This president has done more than any other to advance the killing of innocent babies, further the sin of homosexuality, and continue a democratic assault against Christianity. You would just love to have people like myself, that preach the truth, resign, be quiet and say nothing. Not going to happen.
I dont trust him ,he is a proven liar and involved in murders,gun running and not provideing his documents,obama needs to be on trial.
Dave- what murders? what gun running? what documents? Do you mean his birth certifcate??? thats so old
Thos of you who didn't vote independent these last 3 presidential cycles and last 6 congressional cycles are getting exactly what you deserve. Both of the big 2 parties lack certain leadership qualities and both are willing to screw the little guy to get what they want. Welcome to the world of idiocracy!
Very true. Both parties are held hostage by extremists. I wish the moderates would caucus together to create a quasi 3rd party in the middle.
Why were the so called Bush Tax Cuts so very attractive to Obama in his first term, but not now?
Herron, I disagree with you're percentages if we go over the cliff this will make the people in this country angry at both parties and I believe all politicians in office today will for sure be voted out of office. The American people are just not that forgiving and both parties share the blame on this. We need a fresh start anyhow!
So why didnt Obama , the house, and senate fix everything 3 years ago when they had control of all 3?? Oh ya , i forgot, they were too busy spending up a storm.. Now that the bill comes in for the "Reinvestment act, and Obamacare" lets point fingers and do the blame game.. Why doesnt he just make his 148th Executive order to push everything back until its to his liking..
We have a make believe president with no leadership experience and no job experience and has surrounded himself with political failures.
I'm glad I have a GREAT parachute for this cliff...................cash money, silver, gold..........three old cars and NO CARES for the dip$hips who voted this baffoon in twice. Obama OWNS this economy and WILL answer for it, after all he's spent $3,000,000,000,000 trying to fix it and it's worse now.
I say bring on the cliff...BRING IT ON.......I'm ready, are you????? Lazy leach liberals will suffer worse than me.
1) Return tax rates to where they were under Clinton, when we handed them a 250 million dolar surplus and the best economy since Roosevelt.
2) Make the rich pay into social security on all their income instead of capping it as they do. (this would make social security solvent forever.
3) Make all corporations that ship jobs over seas pay higher taxes, and use that money to subsidize the ones who keep jobs in the USA and pay their employees a living wage with a living set of benefits
4) No more subsidies for oil companies and use that money for alternative environmentally friendly energy sources
5) Make congress live off social security and medicare only after they retire, no benefits beyond that and then we will see how quickly they vote to cut both programs.
6)When we don't have a balanced budget, Congress and the President don't get paid.
7) make sure that when people pay for wars as they go, that the cost is itemized on each pay check stub, ie: 100.00 per pay period goes to Iraq for example.
8) make sure deductions are limited to $6,000 a year. No deuctions for people earning over a million a year and no deductions for donations to churches who use that money to preach or build more churches.
9) Make sure the President and Congress only have Obama care during and after their service, which will insure that the program is made better rather than torn apart.
10), Have all of congress and the President live exclusively off food stamsp for the size of their families, for two months before they get up on their soap boxes about cutting food for the poor.
11) Tax corporate big wihig salaries and bonuses at 75%
12) Every millionair who doesn't actualy do any real work because their money does it for them, should be forced to work in a soup kitchen, school, or mental heallth agency for a year, or pay 75% taxes, they can choose.
13) For all those in Congress refusing to allow illegal immigrants a way into this country,they should be forcw to pick lettuce 12 hours a day for next to nothing for a year and live in squaller with these folks, and after that, we will see if they have had a change of heart.
14) Everyone who utters socialism, take my country back, guns in schools, food stamp president, lazy, etc etc, should be exposed as hateful. ignorant and racist.
Never was a REAL budget surplus under Clinton. The last year the national debt did not increase was back in 1957 when Eisenhower was in the White House.
Why not cut spending to clinton levels. The tax rates are much closer than the spending levels. If things were so good, then why not try to imitate those policies?
Some of the rest are workable. Personally I don't like the idea of rich paying into SS like that. It becomes a true entitlement instead of what it was originally designed for. FDR would turn over in his grave with a move like that.
#14 though just proves you are a nutcase.
Yes, it is the evil rich we have to worry about, not the single mothers who keep having kids to stay on wellfare that they do not work for. Oh, sorry, I didn't realize how racist that sounds.
It is time for President Buckwheat to be sent back to Chicago!
So, you think Mittens won? And I'm SOOO sorry the GOP clowns lost multiple seats in the Senate and over 10 in the House!
And yet even that was a huge gain over 2008 and Obama lost millions of votes since last time. Hardly a ringing endorsement. Face the facts.
Put, there are always less voters in an incumbent race.
Oh look. Another half-wit racist. Go back to the 18th century where you belong, fool.
Looks like 3 other drooling idiot racists gave him votes too. It's the 21st century nimrods. Your white hoods have no place in the world.
Hopefully they were watching Gregory very carefully. Obama gave a potential felon an interview.
The ATF had given him the OK. Try to keep up, gumby, and watch something other than Fox Noise.
NHDEM, You really are a moronic idiot aren't you. Newsflash dumb-ass; Obama has never raised taxes; in fact he's cut taxes 18 different times. This isn't about his policies; this is about whether or not to extend the Bush policies that got us into this mess in the first place. You're hatred and need to blame Obama has only succeeded in showing how little you really do know about Obama and the country's government as a whole. Thank god you're not running for office; now if we could just keep people like you from voting we'd be doing okay.
Taxes go up on Jan 1st no matter what the Congress does or doesn't do. There is an additional tax on LT Capital Gains plus an additional medicare payroll tax that Obama signed into law.
Peter. You love to make up fairy tales! Do you know one about Unicorns?
You paid lower taxes the entire time Obama was in office than you paid under GW Bush.
That's a FACT and not a fairy tale!
That is soon to change, however. Taxes are going to increase, periiod.
Good. Make the rich crybabies pay for the infrastructure in this country that made it possible for them to build wealth.
"Waaaahhhhh I have to pay a whole 3% more on my 20 million how will I every survive?"
Unpatriotic whining losers.
pastor and the rest of you right wing dopes: The bill being debated is a TEA Party bill that was put together by the far right wing of the House Republican Party!!! These are the very people who said in January 2011 they were planning on shutting down the federal government by this kind of legislation and that they would be so unpopular they would NOT be elected. Well, some of them were re-elected and Boehner still cannot handle them. So, it is your damned bill that Boehner cannot get modified in the House. If you had even an ounce of responsibility about you, YOU would be boasting that YOU and YOUR ilk are happily taking us over the cliff! But, you haven't even that. Here you are blaming the President for not compromising on your piece of BS. What an irresponsible loser YOU and your entire poorly educated ilk are! Geeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzz..............
The unintended consequences of gerrymandering are in full display as the House members feel no responsibility to the country as a whole. They are secure in their little cocoons and will only be challenged by the big money string pullers who put them there in the first place. This is a serious problem to say the least.
Blame the liberal social engineers for all the gerrymandering. They wanted to create districts where people of various ethinic groups could easily be elected to the House of Representatives.
Each Congressman is responsible for representing the views of the district that elects them to office.
Peter, you are a whiny little kid, aren't you?
Sad because YOUR SIDE LOST in Nov, and you are now running around like a chicken with it's head cut off?
Herron, yes my side lost but that is not why we are mad. It's because we have been brainwashed into believing to give entittlements to lazy people who don't want to work. For example my wife works as a cashier at a grocery store in our town of 1700 people. She makes 7.75 per hour, works 33 hours per week and pays 89.00 per week for health ins. 75% of the sales she rings up on her register are food stamps. I personally know over 100 people that draw disability each month and they seem to be able to go fishing, hunting, play golf drive a tractor, or work for someone for cash (wink-wink) That's what most of us are mad about. Entittlements Oh you mentioned earlier that the dow was up since obama, How is your portfolio doing? Mines not doing too good.
Peter reminds me of the Bazaaro World episode on Seinfeld.
Just like Syria, Egypt, and Libya the people are going to have to oust the tyrant President of the United States. Obama had a super majority and instead of fixing the economy and the debt he made it worse. Now he has to deal with Republicans and Democrats. That takes leadership. That and honesty are two characteristics that Obama doesn't have. Obama can't blame this one on the GOP. Obama is the President just like Bush was during the banking crisis. The only thing in common is that Bush had a Democrat Senate and House. The common denominator of the US fiscal mess is Democrats! It is just like the state of Illinois, run by the Chicago Democrats (Obama). The state is bankrupt due to incompetence and corruption. Obama was an Illinois state legislator and helped make this mess. Obama has the Midas Touch - everything he touches turns into a rusty muffler!
So you're advocating a violent overthrow of the US Government? Specifically the President of the United States. Perhaps you should get a visit from the US Secret Service.
rober34: Tell us the truth, you mindless dope, did you actually fail the GED again????!!???? You far right wing, extremist, fanatics make up history, make up government, make up lies and post them as though they had some merit! Good God! If there were anything in your post that was even remotely accurate, it might be worth answering. But, it's just plain, made up, BS and nothing more!
I can see that every day it is becomeing more apparent to the left wing nuts that the People on the right are far superior when it comes to rulling a country.
All I see is that people on the right have trouble with spelling.
They don't need any wasteful Department of Education!
Yeah Bush was far better at running the country..... into the ground.
No one even heard of this till after the election. Do you know why? BECAUSE OBAMA HAS NOTHING TO LOSE!!! This is his second and last term. He doesnt care.
Dan Lash: What in hell are you talking about! Of course everyone has heard of the "fiscal cliff" bill before the election. It was a bill put together by the TEA Party in the House as their answer to the debt crisis. These are the same far right wing, extremist, fanatic group of TEA Party people who said they planned to destroy the American government and economy and that they would be so unpopular they would not be re-elected. Their bill was "kicked down the road" from last spring to 31 December of 2012. Boehner tried to negotiate it among his fellow House Republican again but LOST again last week. The bill now must pass the House and Senate before the President either signs or vetoes it. Damnit! Go to some respectable junior college or high school and take a course in American Government so you can follow the process of how a bill becomes law!