Obama talks guns, debt at final press conference of first term

Bringing the curtain down on his first term with a combative press conference, President Barack Obama said Monday he had received Vice President Joe Biden?s commendations for curbing an epidemic of gun violence one month after the elementary school slaughter in Newtown, Conn.

?I?ll present the details later in the week,? Obama told reporters, praising Biden for carrying out a ?very thorough process? that had yielded ?a list of sensible, common-sense steps that can be taken.?

But will Congress adopt proposals like renewing the assault weapons ban? ?I don?t know,? acknowledged Obama, who was due to discuss the issue with Biden on Monday. ?My starting point is not to worry about the politics,? he added, vowing to focus ?on what makes sense, what works.?

Obama also warned Congressional Republicans on Monday that he will not trade spending cuts for their vote to raise the country?s debt ceiling.

Obama called Republican talk of not raising the limit?of, in effect, not paying the country?s bills??irresponsible? and ?absurd,? and said the GOP will ?not collect a ransom in return for not crashing the economy.

?We are not a deadbeat nation,? he said.

At issue is the congressionally established debt limit, which the country is set to reach shortly. Without additional borrowing, the government will not be able to pay all of its bills, raising the prospect of a default on national debt payments or Washington being forced to stop issuing Social Security checks, pay to troops overseas, and other legally required outlays, according to Obama. Either option would likely send shockwaves through the fragile global economy.

Raising the debt limit was mostly a matter of routine in Washington under presidents of both parties for decades. The opposition would make a big show of wringing its hands over the nation?s finances (as a senator in 2006, Obama himself called it ?a sign of leadership failure") and the majority would find a way to pass it.

Republicans broke sharply from that script in August 2011, when they demanded spending cuts equal to the amount that the limit would be raised. The ensuing standoff brought the nation to the brink of default and led to the first-ever downgrade of the country?s credit rating?but also to historic spending cuts, signed into law by Obama. Top Republican lawmakers have said publicly that this time they may be willing to partially shut down the government to secure more reductions.

?Our economy is growing, and our businesses are creating new jobs, so we are poised for a good year if we make smart decisions and sound investments? and so long as Washington politics ?don?t get in the way,? the president said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-hold-press-conference-11-15-m-141554262--politics.html

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