Obama to Wall Street: You Should Be Worried

President says he's 'exasperated' over shutdown
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 2, 2013 3:26 PM CDT
Obama to Wall Street: You Should Be Worried
President Obama speaks at the White House on Sept. 30.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Wall Street has been relatively calm amid the government shutdown, maybe because these kinds of showdowns have become old hat between Republicans and the White House. But "I think this time's different," President Obama tells CNBC. In fact, he said he just warned business leaders who make up the Financial Services Forum that they should be worried, especially with the looming deadline on the debt ceiling. "When you have a situation in which a faction is willing to potentially default on US government obligations, then we are in trouble," said Obama.

Some other highlights:

  • "During the course of my presidency I have bent over backwards to work with the Republican Party and have purposely kept my rhetoric down."
  • "I think I'm pretty well known for being a calm guy ... sometimes people think I'm too calm. But am I exasperated? Absolutely I'm exasperated. Because this is entirely unnecessary."
Obama gave the interview a few hours before this afternoon's scheduled meeting House with House and Senate leaders from both parties. (More President Obama stories.)

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