◼ Debt Deal Collapse Led to 'Pure Fury' From President Obama - ABC News ◼ Via Drudge
An explosive mix of dysfunction, miscommunication, and misunderstandings inside and outside the White House led to the collapse of a historic spending and debt deal that President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner were on the verge of reaching last summer, according to revelations in author Bob Woodward's latest book.
The book, "The Price of Politics," on sale Sept. 11, 2012, shows how close the president and the House speaker were to defying Washington odds and establishing a spending framework that included both new revenues and major changes to long-sacred entitlement programs.
But at a critical juncture, with an agreement tantalizingly close, Obama pressed Boehner for additional taxes as part of a final deal -- a miscalculation, in retrospect, given how far the House speaker felt he'd already gone.
The president called three times to speak with Boehner about his latest offer, according to Woodward. But the speaker didn't return the president's phone call for most of an agonizing day, in what Woodward calls a "monumental communications lapse" between two of the most powerful men in the country.
When Boehner finally did call back, he jettisoned the entire deal. Obama lost his famous cool, according to Woodward, with a "flash of pure fury" coming from the president; one staffer in the room said Obama gripped the phone so tightly he thought he would break it....
Pelosi 'reached over and pressed mute button on her phone' as Obama talked...
WOODWARD: White House so stunned by 2010 GOP triumph, it didn't even have Boehner's phone number...
◼ Speed Read: Juiciest Bits From Bob Woodward’s Book ‘Price of Politics’ - Miranda Green/Daily Beast (image source)
◼ Woodward’s devastating account of Obama’s failed leadership - Conn Carroll/Washington Examiner @conncarroll
◼ The Price of Politics This title will be released on September 11, 2012. at Amazon
◼ You'll also want The Amateur, by Edward Klein
