Obama suggested one-on-one negotiations won’t make a difference. Obama rejects GOP offer on cliff

President Barack Obama on Tuesday dismissed a House Republican deficit reduction offer as “still out of balance,” saying there will be no agreement until the GOP drops its opposition to income tax hikes.

Obama even suggested that one-on-one negotiations with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) won’t make a difference until Republicans change their position.


“I don’t think the issue right now has to do with sitting in a room,” Obama said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “The issue right now that’s relevant is the acknowledgment that if we’re going to raise revenues that are sufficient to balance with the very tough cuts that we’ve already made and the further reforms in entitlements that I’m prepared to make, that we’re going to have to see the rates on the top 2 percent go up. And we’re not going to be able to get a deal without it.”

( Also on POLITICO: Transcript and video of Obama’s Bloomberg TV interview)

“It’s not me being stubborn,” Obama added. “It’s not me being partisan. It’s just a matter of math.”

In his first TV interview since winning reelection, Obama did not say that rates on income above $250,000 would have to snap back to Clinton-era levels, when the top bracket was 39.6 percent. That could leave room for a potential compromise that raises rates somewhere above the current level of 35 percent.

Obama said he is open to changes to entitlement programs but wouldn’t commit to benefit cuts. It suggests a step back from his position during his 2011 debt limit negotiations with Boehner, when he agreed to raising the Medicare eligibility age, asking wealthier seniors to pay more for Medicare services and changing the inflation calculator for government programs such as Social Security.

The comments come as talks between Democrats and Republicans on resolving the fiscal cliff are at a virtual standstill.

( Also on POLITICO: Carney calls GOP plan ‘magic beans and fairy dust’)

Republicans rejected as laughable an offer last week from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to raise $1.6 trillion in new revenue and spend $200 billion on programs to stimulate the economy. Obama responded in kind Tuesday on the House GOP proposal to raise $800 billion in new revenue, but not through higher tax rates.

“We have the potential of getting a deal done,” Obama said. “Unfortunately, the speaker’s proposal right now is still out of balance.”

Boehner defended his proposal as a “middle ground solution that can cut spending and bring in revenue without hurting American small businesses.”

“The president now has an obligation to respond with a proposal that does the same and can pass both chambers of Congress,” the speaker said in a statement. “We’re ready and eager to talk with the president about such a proposal.”

Donovan Slack contributed to this report.