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WASHINGTON. — President Barack Obama sat down for talks with more of his Republican foes yesterday amid hopes for a breakthrough in a budget showdown threatening the US recovery and the global economy.
Just six days before a crunch deadline for Congress to raise US borrowing authority — or risk the ignominy of a historic default — Obama met Republican senators at the White House.
Talks were also expected between Obama’s top aides and House Republican leaders on a temporary truce which would hike the debt ceiling for six weeks, and on the president’s demand for an end to a partial government shutdown.
The intensifying contact reflected the proximity of the October 17 deadline, moves by both sides to find a face-saving exit strategy, and new polls showing the Republican image taking a battering in the showdown.
A senior Republican source said talks went into the night after Obama and Republican leaders made progress on Thursday evening — but there was no sign of a deal yet. A similar news blackout was in force at the White House. Obama was meanwhile meeting at the White House with the entirety of the Republican minority in the Senate, seen as more likely to support re-opening the government, partially shuttered for 11 days.
But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid signalled Friday that Democrats were driving a hard bargain, suggesting a debt ceiling hike for more than six weeks, to avoid a similar round of brinkmanship in the run-up to the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday period — the peak spending period for many consumers. — AFP.
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