How We Wound Up With a $1.2T Deficit

(NEWSER) - Republicans think they’ve found one chink in President Obama’s armor: public fear over rising national debt. Some 51% of Americans disapprove of Obama’s efforts to control federal spending, according to a recent poll. In every other area, Obama enjoys positive ratings. “The president is still popular, but his policies are catching up with him,” Sen. Lamar Alexander told Politico. “When that happens, it helps us make our points.” More»

Ezra Klein crunches the numbers and comes up with a lower total than you think

(NEWSER) - Mitt Romney has taken to carrying around a debt clock, blaming President Obama for the ever-climbing number it shows. But the clock doesn't show how much Obama has actually added to that debt, so Ezra Klein set out to find out. "There are two answers," he writes in the Washington Post . The first, which is "simple and wrong" is $4.7 trillion. That's what you get when you subtract the debt when Obama took office (about $10.5 trillion) from the current debt (about $15.2 trillion). 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."

President says budget talks will continue 'every day'

(NEWSER) - Compromise was the theme of President Obama's press conference today, during which he acknowledged that yesterday's budget talks did not result in a deal—but promised that "we're gonna meet every single day until we get this thing resolved." He insisted that he and "all the leaders" agree that we absolutely cannot fail to raise the debt ceiling and thus "allow the US government to default." He also confirmed he is still looking for "the largest possible deal," and that he appreciates John Boehner's "good-faith efforts on that front." Obama also noted that nobody is talking about increasing taxes right now. More»

White House unveils $3.7T budget, plans to cut spending

(NEWSER) - The White House expects the national budget deficit to peak at $1.65 trillion this year, or roughly 10.9% of GDP—its highest level since World War II, the Wall Street Journal reports. That figure—which is significantly more pessimistic than the Congressional Budget Office’s $1.48 trillion estimate—comes alongside Obama’s newly released $3.73 trillion budget proposal for fiscal year 2012, which the administration says would shave $1.1 trillion off the deficit over the next decade. More»