President Obama Willing To Raise Debt Ceiling On His Own

President Obama Willing To Raise Debt Ceiling On His Own ; President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner might not agree on how to slash the country's deficit, but they agree on one thing: They are convinced the nation's $14.29 trillion debt ceiling will be raised.

President Obama, sounding at times exasperated that talks broke down with Boehner (R., Ohio), said no matter what happens, the debt ceiling must be raised. He said he'll tell that to congressional leaders Saturday when they meet at the White House.

The only bottom line that I have is that we have to extend this debt ceiling through the next election, into 2013," Obama said. Boehner said he is " convinced" the debt ceiling will be raised.

But how can they be so confident?

"I am confident simply because I cannot believe that Congress would end up being that irresponsible that they would not send a package that avoids a self- inflicted wound to the economy at a time when things are so difficult," Obama said.

He also signaled he'd take the responsibility himself. "I'm happy to do it," Obama said.

Boehner also said Friday that, despite talks breaking down, he's "convinced" the debt ceiling will be raised.

Obama currently doesn't have the power to raise the debt ceiling without Congress. But a last-ditch option that is being discussed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) would give him power to request a boost in the debt ceiling. Then, though a series of complicated votes, only a minority of lawmakers would be required to raise it.

President Obama said he wants a clear understanding before the weekend ends of what the next move is. He said lawmakers need to recognize "that Wall Street will be opening on Monday and we better have some answers during the course of the next several days."

President Obama said he still wants to continue to try and find common ground on slashing the deficit. Only raising the debt ceiling, Obama warned, might not be enough to avoid a downgrading of U.S. debt.

"If we can't come up with a serious plan for actual deficit and debt reduction, and all we're doing is extending the debt ceiling for another six, seven, eight months, then the probabilities of downgrading U.S. credit are increased," Obama said. He continued, "And that will be an additional cloud over the economy and make it more difficult for us and more difficult for businesses to create jobs that the American people so desperately need." source ; http://www.nasdaq.com