President Obama Talks Debt Ceiling; Convincing Washington to Get Along
JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: President Obama draws a line, which Republicans already insist they're going to ignore. Welcome to a new year of Washington gridlock. Lance Armstrong is apologizing. But what exactly is he admitting he's done wrong? And Suze Orman is joining us to explain why you will have to spend less money this year and what you need to do to make up for it. Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm Joe Johns. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. We begin with Washington's latest standoff. During a White House news conference today, President Obama told congressional Republicans they will not, in his words, collect a ransom by demanding spending cuts as a condition for raising the debt ceiling. The House of Representatives is back in session today, too, and Republicans are just as adamant, insisting they won't raise the debt limit unless the president goes along with spending cuts. Let's go live to CNN White House correspondent Brianna Keilar.</s>BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Joe. President Obama stating very clearly today that he will not negotiate deficit reduction, tax increases and spending cuts attached to the debt ceiling. This, of course, does follow that bruising battle the year before last, where he did negotiate on the issue, and the U.S. nearly went to the brink of default. He said that Congress has to pay the bills that it's already racked up.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You don't go out to dinner and then, you know, eat all you want and then leave without paying the check. And if you do, you're breaking the law. And Congress is -- should think about it the same way that the American people do. You don't -- now, if Congress wants to have a debate about maybe we shouldn't go out to dinner next time, maybe we should go to a more modest restaurant, that's fine. That's a debate that we should have.</s>KEILAR: In this press conference that was called last minute in the East Room, President Obama said he will negotiate a deal on deficit reduction, but not, as he put it -- quote -- "with a gun to the head of the American people." As you know, Joe, Republicans are saying they're not going to increase the debt ceiling unless they get spending cuts in return. So, it really throws into question, as President Obama obviously is trying to disarm them, trying to make moot, really, this one pretty hefty card they're able to play here throughout this battle, it throws into question how tackle things like entitlement reform and tax reform and also those spending cuts that were only put off for a couple months, those spending cuts that were set to kick in at the end of the month, how all of that plays out.</s>JOHNS: Brianna, for the first time, the president actually responded to questions about the administration not having enough women in the second-term Cabinet. What did he say?</s>KEILAR: He stressed his record on this during his first term, that Hillary Clinton was the secretary of state, still is, but is going to be stepping down and will be replaced by a man. He stressed that Janet Napolitano is heading the Department of Homeland Security and at least for now appears to be staying there. He stressed as well that he appointed two women to the Supreme Court. And he also told people to essentially wait a sec. He urged some patience.</s>OBAMA: I would just suggest that everybody kind of wait until they have seen all my appointments, who's in the White House staff and who's in my Cabinet, before they rush to judgment.</s>KEILAR: But for now, Joe, there is still some criticism over this because his recent picks, which really are top Cabinet posts, Treasury, state, defense, CIA director, have all been white men and that has rankled a number of critics, particularly female critics.</s>JOHNS: Brianna Keilar at the White House, thank you for that. CNN chief political analyst Gloria Borger is with me here in THE SITUATION ROOM right now. And, you know, of course, we have got some quick reaction from House Speaker Boehner</s>GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, boom.</s>JOHNS: Absolutely. Let's just put it up on the screen and I will read it to you. The American people do not support raising the debt ceiling without reducing government spending at the same time. The consequences of failing to increase the debt ceiling are real, but so too are the consequences of allowing our spending problem to go unresolved." So it certainly appears we're set up for another major showdown already.</s>BORGER: We are. I think it's going to be a bigger showdown in fact than the fiscal cliff. You know, the president today said -- quote -- "We have to stop lurching from crisis to crisis to crisis." Then he went and set the stage for yet another crisis, right? This time, of course, it's over the debt ceiling. And it's going to be big, because it really reflects two different visions of what the debt ceiling is all about. For the president, you heard today, it's about paying your bill, going to a restaurant, picking up the tab for food you have already eaten. Fine.</s>JOHNS: Very commonsense, yes.</s>BORGER: Very commonsense. For Republicans, it's about solving a problem, making a government that is too big smaller and getting control of runaway spending on entitlements like Social Security and Medicare and fixing a long-term problem. It's not just about paying the bills. It's about the future.</s>JOHNS: Right, but there are also a lot of political calculations in here. And I assume they're very close to the political calculations we saw in the last crisis.</s>BORGER: Yes, they are, although, you know, in the last crisis it was very clear that the president had the leverage. He had just won the election. He had won an election over the tax issue and the Republicans lost on the tax issue. They're pushing that so far off the table that I don't even hear them talking about tax reform anymore. The president is making a gamble here, that the public will see the Republicans as irresponsible and absurd, as he called them, that you can't let the United States of America default, that's not who we are, and that the American public will be embarrassed by this fight. The Republicans are making the calculation, you know what, the public is going to be on our side, because we have to get on a path of fiscal sustainability over the long term so they're going to be with us, they're going to want spending cuts.</s>JOHNS: We have been measuring the political pressure on the speaker as it builds, it seems, to a big climax here. How much pressure is he in right now?</s>BORGER: Huge amount of pressure. Don't forget, he didn't have a great time in the fiscal cliff fight. He couldn't bring a majority of his own caucus to vote for that final proposal. This time, his own caucus has put him on notice. A., don't you dare propose anything that doesn't have a majority of us on board to begin with. And, B., we want dollar-for-dollar parity. In other words, every dollar you raise on the debt limit, we want a dollar of spending cuts. That's a very difficult, almost impossible task, unless you get some kind of grand bargain, which, since these two groups are talking past each other, it doesn't seem like that's a possibility.</s>JOHNS: We will see. And the calculations certainly could end up affecting everybody's pocketbook.</s>BORGER: Yes, and every piece of legislation that is on the table, Joe, immigration reform, gun control. If these people are angry at each to, they're not going to get anything done.</s>JOHNS: True. Thanks so much, Gloria Borger. Good to see you.</s>BORGER: Thanks. Just in to</s>CNN: some very dramatic poll numbers on how the American public feels about guns. They show broad support for tougher gun control measures. A just released Pew poll shows 85 percent of Americans favor background checks for private gun sales and sales at gun shows. Only 12 percent are opposed. Clear, but smaller majority favor bans on semiautomatics and assault-style weapons. Fifty-eight percent say ban semiautomatics; 55 percent say ban assault weapons. The polls also shows only 40 percent favor an idea being pushed by the National Rifle Association, having more teachers and school officials carrying guns. On that topic, Vice President Joe Biden met with House members and Cabinet officials today preparing to give the president his task force's recommendations on how to reduce gun violence. CNN White House correspondent Dan Lothian join us live now -- Dan.</s>DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And the vice president also met with the president today. They went other some proposals. The president saying that later in the week, he will be outlining some specifics about watt administration needs to do. There will be no doubt some resistance to what the president will be offering. But the president says that he is not worried about the politics.</s>LOTHIAN (voice-over): President Obama says he's already reviewing the vice president's recommendations aimed at tackling gun violence.</s>OBAMA: How we are gathering data, for example, on guns that fall into the hands of criminals and how we track that more effectively. There may be some steps that we can take administratively as opposed to through legislation.</s>LOTHIAN: But strong resistance to executive orders from some gun right advocates who fear their Second Amendment rights might be put at risk. Vice President Biden, who has been tasked with finding answers, meeting with everyone from gun rights groups to the entertainment industry, sat down with House Democrats on a task force put together by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. But what's been promoted as a bipartisan effort has yet to include House Republicans. This debate has spread from Washington to state and local governments. Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's putting together his own proposals to reduce violence.</s>GOV. MARTIN O'MALLEY (D), MARYLAND: There is a sickness in our country. And that sickness is gun violence.</s>LOTHIAN: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who joined O'Malley and other leaders at a summit in Baltimore, is putting pressure on the White House and Congress.</s>MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), MAYOR OF NEW YORK: Enough is enough. It's time for Congress and the White House to put public health above special interest politics.</s>LOTHIAN: The group he co-founded, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, has released a new TV ad calling for gun control.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Enough.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Enough.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Enough.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A line has been crossed in Newtown.</s>LOTHIAN: But the NRA says the focus should be on mental health issues and violent entertainment, not gun control. And the group's president raised doubts about an assault weapons ban getting through Congress.</s>DAVID KEENE, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION: You don't want to bet your House on the outcome, but I would say that the likelihood is that they're not going to be able to get an assault weapons ban through this Congress.</s>LOTHIAN: It may be a steep climb, but it has the support of the president, some members of Congress, and the police chief in Newtown, Connecticut.</s>MICHAEL KEHOE, NEWTOWN POLICE CHIEF: Ban assault weapons, restrict those magazines that have so many bullets in them.</s>LOTHIAN: Now, as for the vice president not meeting with House Republicans, a source familiar with the talks tells CNN that other members of Congress will be brought into the process once they start exploring legislative options Joe.</s>JOHNS: Dan Lothian at the White House, thanks for that, Dan. A quick programming note. This Wednesday, be sure to watch a special gun control town hall on "ANDERSON COOPER 360." We will break down all the issues. That's Wednesday at 8:00 Eastern, only on CNN. Up next: Lance Armstrong says "I'm sorry," but he hasn't said "I did it," at least not yet. Hear why we could hear him say those words very soon. Plus, tracking the flu with the smartphone -- the new way you can find out who is infected and where they are.