Obama and Boehner Both Want a Deal

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July 06, 2011

Obama and Boehner Both Want a Deal

President Obama and House Speaker Boehner met privately over the holiday weekend to continue negotiations over raising the nation's debt limit, Politico reports.

The news suggests both men want to prove they can get a "big" deal done which is why President Obama pushed back against suggestions by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) that they settle for a short term deal.

First Read: "Realize that both sides -- politically -- share the same goals. As we've written before, a deal is most likely good for the status quo and thus their re-election chances in 2012. If there's a deal, the argument goes, economic armageddon is averted and the recovery continues (especially if gas prices continue to fall and as Japan recovers). But if there's not a deal, the ensuing chaos could be VERY problematic for the Democrat in the White House and the Republicans in charge of the House."

"On the other hand, does McConnell have a different political goal? The chaos probably helps Senate Republicans gain the majority next year, although they already have -- at the least -- a 50-50 shot of winning control of the chamber in 2012 even in a status-quo political environment."

The New York Times reports Obama has called leaders from both parties to the White House on Thursday.

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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July 06, 2011