LET’S BE FRIENDS

Obama, GOP Meeting Shaky

Both agree they have different priorities.

In the continued outreach that is making some Republicans squirm, President Obama meet with the House Republican conference Wednesday—the first time he has done so since 2011. The hangout underscored the divide between the two sides in creating a budget compromise in the deficit-reduction deal. Yesterday, a deal proposed by Republicans steeply cut into the president's accomplishments. “Our biggest problems in the next 10 years are not deficits,” Obama said in the meeting. But Republicans disagree. “Well, he doesn’t want to balance the budget in 10 years, and he wants tax increases, and he wants new spending,” said Rep. Darrell Issa.