From the New York Times:
WASHINGTON — President Obama and House Republicans failed to reach agreement on a six-week extension of the nation’s borrowing authority during a meeting Thursday at the White House, but both sides agreed to keep talking and the Republican offer was seen as a first step toward ending the budget standoff.
Twenty Republicans, led by Speaker John A. Boehner, went to the White House at Mr. Obama’s invitation after a day of fine-tuning their offer to increase the Treasury Department’s authority to borrow money to pay existing obligations through Nov. 22. In exchange, they sought the president’s commitment to negotiate a deal for long-term deficit reduction and a tax overhaul.
“The president didn’t say yes, didn’t say no,” said Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin. “We’re continuing to negotiate this evening.”
He added: “We put an offer on the table. We had a long, frank conversation about it. We agreed to continue talking and continue negotiating.”
The Republicans have been rash and unwise. They are protected by the Constitution. Under a parliamentary system the head of government could have dissolved the house and called general elections forthwith. Republicans would have been reduced to single figure in the house. The head of government would win hands down. V. C. Bhutani, Delhi, 11 Oct 2013, 0735 IST
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