Who Needs Republicans - Obama Can Negotiate With His Staff

I don't have a lot of time but this is just another example of Obama's inability to show a strong face in negotiations. He had said that any bill to raise the debt limit had to be "clean" meaning that it did not contain budget cuts or other provisions.

Here is what he said to the AP yesterday

Obama told the AP without doubt: "We will raise the debt limit. We always have. We will do it again."
He warned that anything less would undermine the solvency of the government, roil financial markets and potentially "plunge the world economy back into a recession." Yet when pressed on how the stalemate with House Speaker John Boehner would end, Obama said: "I think he's absolutely right that it's not going to happen without some spending cuts.

His staff then rushed to clean up the mess:

However, when asked about the president's comment, White House press secretary Jay Carney said it is "imperative" that a debt-limit vote not be "held hostage to any other action, because of the consequences of not raising the debt ceiling."
Jack Lew, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, struck a similar tone in an interview airing this weekend.
"Our very strong view is that the debt limit should be passed as a clean, standalone bill," he said in an interview with Bloomberg TV's "Political Capital With Al Hunt."

Of course its too late. If the Republicans ever had any doubt, and really why would they, its now clear that Obama will fold again. Indeed, it appears that Obama had already said this very thing to John Boehner