Budget Battle Shows GOP's 'Madness'

But he'd better watch out for Eric Cantor

(NEWSER) - President Obama has “called Republicans’ bluff on the debt,” writes EJ Dionne in the Washington Post . With a little help from Eric Cantor, Obama has shown that Republicans’ top goal has nothing to do with the deficit—instead, they want to maintain low taxes on corporations and the rich. “Even the most resolutely centrist and cautious have been forced to concede this essential truth of American politics,” writes Dionne. Now, Obama “occupies the high ground in the debt-ceiling debate.” But there's peril ahead. More»

...even though 'this may bring my presidency down'

(NEWSER) - We already knew last night's debt talks did not go well —but not only did President Obama leave "abruptly," he really put his foot down, Talking Points Memo reports: "I have reached the point where I say enough," he said, according to those present. "Would Ronald Reagan be sitting here? I've reached my limit. This may bring my presidency down, but I will not yield on this." More of the latest developments:

• Obama reportedly gave both sides a deadline to determine whether they will seek long-term spending cuts or a short-term solution: tomorrow. His reason for leaving last night, at least according to one Democrat? Eric Cantor interrupted his closing remarks to push, for the third time, a short-term extension of the Aug. 2 deadline. Obama's response? "See you guys tomorrow."

Krugman: It's a 'disaster' for the country, and shows he'll surrender again

(NEWSER) - President Obama caved deeply in a debt deal that made the Republicans big winners, with both Andrew Leonard and Paul Krugman arguing that he "surrendered." Their take:

• “In the end, President Obama had to admit surrender,” writes Andrew Leonard in Salon , detailing “a smashing victory for the Tea Party and a crushing defeat for Democrats.” In Obama’s defense, he “had to choose between an awful deal or an outright catastrophe.” But he made a mistake in trying to sell it as a compromise. "The president said it was not 'the deal I would have preferred.' He should have said it's a bad deal that does not address the pressing needs of the nation," but one that he had no choice but to sign.

But today's the absolute last one—right?

(NEWSER) - Today is, supposedly, the absolute last day for debt limit legislation to be introduced in the House if the US wants to avoid defaulting on Aug. 2. As we wait to see if lawmakers make the deadline, Uri Friedman, writing in in the Atlantic Wire, looks at all the deadlines they've missed so far:

1. May 16: Timothy Geithner originally named this as the date the US would risk default, but when it passed without Congress raising the debt ceiling, the Treasury shuffled some clamshells to postpone the default date to Aug. 2—at which point "the borrowing authority of the United States will be exhausted."
2. June 31: On June 1, John Boehner said that a deal must be made in the next month in order to avoid "rattling investors."

Boehner believes proposal must hit House today

(NEWSER) - We may very well be at zero hour: John Boehner has privately told Republicans that in order to get a debt ceiling measure signed by President Obama by the Aug. 2 deadline, it must be introduced in the House today. But despite the increasing likeliness of a US default, Politico reports that hope for a bipartisan deal has disintegrated. After meeting with the president and Nancy Pelosi last night, Harry Reid accused Boehner of taking a "my-way-or-the-highway approach," and reiterated the fact that his two-part plan —or any short-term plan—is "a non-starter in the Senate and with the president." Politico also notes that Obama, after three weeks of being highly visible, was on the sidelines during this weekend's developments, a potentially risky move this late in the game. More»