The credit of the United States 'is not a bargaining chip,' Obama said. Obama: 'Absurd' not to raise ceiling

President Barack Obama used the last press conference of his first term to try to grab hold of the debate over fiscal responsibility, which will define the beginning of his second.

Obama repeated his call for a long-term deficit-reduction deal but spent most of his nearly hourlong appearance in the East Room of the White House to cast Republicans as endangering the U.S. economy by threatening to not raise the debt ceiling.


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“They will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the American economy,” Obama said. “The full faith and credit of the United States of America is not a bargaining chip.”

“While I’m willing to compromise and find common ground over how to reduce our deficit, America cannot afford another debate with this Congress over how to pay the bills they’ve already racked up,” Obama said in the East Room of the White House. “To even entertain the idea of this happening, of America not paying its bills, is irresponsible. It’s absurd.”

Obama made clear he’s tired of the frequent negotiations over major fiscal issues and said he wants a longer-term agreement. “We’ve got to break the habit of negotiating through crisis over and over again,” he said. “I am not going to have a monthly or every-three-months conversation about whether or not we pay our bills.”

( Also on POLITICO: House GOP’s fiscal split looms large for Obama)

POLITICO reported Sunday that House Republicans are seriously considering letting the U.S. default on its debt or shutting down the government. If Republicans want to shut down the government “that’s their prerogative,” he said.

But, Obama said, the principle at stake was simple.

“The issue here is whether America pays its bills,” Obama said. “We are not a deadbeat nation.”

The Treasury Department estimates that the government will hit its debt limit and no longer be able to satisfy its debt obligations by late February or early March. If Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling by that point, the U.S. government would default.

But even if Republicans agree to raise the debt ceiling, they could threaten a government shutdown when current funding expires on March 27.

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Obama spent much of his time repeating the message, comparing members of Congress who are opposed to raising the debt ceiling to, among other things, hostage takers and diners trying to dash on their restaurant bill.

“You don’t go out to dinner and then eat all you want and then leave without paying the check, and if you do, you’re breaking the law. And Congress should think about it the same way the American people do,” he said.

Later, he added: “This is the United States of America. We can’t manage our affairs in terms of the way we pay our bills? … I don’t think anyone would consider my position unreasonable.”

Obama said that the larger deal he’d like has been within sight, adding that he and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) “came pretty close” — within a few hundred billion dollars — in their late 2012 fiscal cliff negotiations.

Boehner countered Obama’s remarks in a statement, saying that 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. ” The House GOP does “not support raising the debt ceiling without reducing government spending at the same time” and will do its job and pass responsible legislation that controls spending, meets our nation’s obligations and keeps the government running, and we will insist that the Democratic majority in Washington do the same.”

But Obama made clear that he doesn’t think his relatively reserved social stance has anything to do with the GOP intransigence he’s faced, since “there are a lot of Republicans at this point that feel that given how much energy has been devoted in some of the media that’s preferred by Republican constituencies to demonize me, that it doesn’t look real good socializing with me,” he said. “That’ll be true whether I’m the life of the party or a stick in the mud.”

The president spoke broadly about his second-term agenda, mentioning energy, immigration, education and gun violence as issues he intends to tackle.

Obama also said he has begun examining Vice President Joe Biden’s recommendations for combating gun violence in the aftermath of the Newtown, Conn., shooting and will present his ideas in the coming days. He indicated that he plans to push for tougher background checks, restrictions on the size of magazines and a “meaningful” assault weapons ban.

Though some Democrats have said they are reluctant to push ahead with politically unpopular ideas, Obama said he will forge ahead. “My starting point is not to focus on the politics; my starting point is to focus on what makes sense, what works,” he said.

He’s “confident” that some of what he wants to do can be achieved with executive action, while other steps will require congressional approval. But responsible gun owners “don’t have anything to worry about,” and suggestions to the contrary are efforts by the gun industry to “gin up” sales.

Obama defended himself from criticism that, with recent departures and appointments, his administration has become less diverse. “I’m very proud that in the first four years, we had as diverse if not a more diverse a White House and a Cabinet than any in history. And I intend to continue that,” he said.

He also warned against passing judgment on the diversity of his second-term senior team before it has been fully formed. “I think until you’ve seen what my overall team looks like, it’s premature to assume that somehow we’re going backwards. We’re not going backwards; we’re going forward.”

It was Obama’s 21st full White House news conference and 108th time taking questions from the press, according to CBS News’s Mark Knoller, who tracks these statistics.