Showdowns

No Breakthrough at Budget Talks

Obama, Boehner, Reid scramble for solution.

Wednesday’s 90-minute meeting between President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner, and Senate Majority leader Harry Reid produced nothing except vague assurances of “progress”: A sign that we’re still headed for a government shutdown Friday. After the meeting, Boehner said there was no agreement on spending targets or policy, only a common desire to avoid a shutdown. Still, President Obama insisted there was time to make and pass a deal, demanding a "sense of urgency" in doing so. Boehner is trying to deflect blame from the Republicans by voting on Thursday on a one-week extension that would also slash $12 billion in spending—a nonstarter that Obama and Reid says is simply an attempt to create a distraction.