Obama (resorts to scare tactics): Raise debt ceiling or risk global recession -
Failure by Congress to raise the U.S. debt limit "could plunge the world economy back into recession," President Barack Obama declared Friday, and he acknowledged that he must compromise on spending with Republicans who control the House to avoid such a crisis.
"I think he's absolutely right that it's not going to happen without some spending cuts," the president told The Associated Press in an interview in his hometown, agreeing with House Speaker John Boehner's assessment.
Obama urged swift action, saying he doesn't want the United States to get close to a deadline that would destabilize financial markets. He said he was confident Congress ultimately would raise the limit.
"We always have. We will do it again," said Obama, who voted against raising the debt limit as a freshman senator from Illinois.
The interview came a day after the Democratic president held the first major fundraising events of his re-election campaign, which was launched a week ago in a nation still reeling from high unemployment as it struggles to recover from economic recession.
"I'm the person who is best prepared for us to finish the job so that we're on track to succeed in the 21st century," Obama said. That's the heart of his argument for voters to give him a second term over more than a half dozen Republicans seeking the White House.
As the 2012 campaign gets under way, it's being shaped by a deep disagreement over federal spending in Washington between Republicans who control the House and Democrats in power in the Senate and White House. Obama and Republicans compromised a week ago on a spending bill to avert a government shutdown, a preview of the debate that's certain to dominate the coming months on deficits and the ceiling on money the nation can borrow.
The president said that he doesn't expect either side to get everything it wants in negotiations and that he's pushing for "a smart compromise that's serious."
He warned of dire consequences if the debt ceiling is not raised before it hits its limit of $14.3 trillion; the administration says the latest Congress could possibly act is by early July. But Obama said some longer-term questions about where the government trims its operations will have to be left until after the 2012 presidential election.
Obama's remarks about the relationship between lifting the debt ceiling and the need for spending cuts was the clearest acknowledgement yet by the president or the White House that the two issues are intertwined. Republicans, particularly tea party-backed lawmakers in the House, have repeatedly said they would not vote to increase the debt cap without a significant step toward long-term deficit reduction — a point reiterated by Boehner on Thursday.
To win a second term, Obama must convince the recession-weary nation that he deserves more time to help the economy recover from a recession that began under George W. Bush.
Failure by Congress to raise the U.S. debt limit "could plunge the world economy back into recession," President Barack Obama declared Friday, and he acknowledged that he must compromise on spending with Republicans who control the House to avoid such a crisis.
"I think he's absolutely right that it's not going to happen without some spending cuts," the president told The Associated Press in an interview in his hometown, agreeing with House Speaker John Boehner's assessment.
Obama urged swift action, saying he doesn't want the United States to get close to a deadline that would destabilize financial markets. He said he was confident Congress ultimately would raise the limit.
"We always have. We will do it again," said Obama, who voted against raising the debt limit as a freshman senator from Illinois.
The interview came a day after the Democratic president held the first major fundraising events of his re-election campaign, which was launched a week ago in a nation still reeling from high unemployment as it struggles to recover from economic recession.
"I'm the person who is best prepared for us to finish the job so that we're on track to succeed in the 21st century," Obama said. That's the heart of his argument for voters to give him a second term over more than a half dozen Republicans seeking the White House.
As the 2012 campaign gets under way, it's being shaped by a deep disagreement over federal spending in Washington between Republicans who control the House and Democrats in power in the Senate and White House. Obama and Republicans compromised a week ago on a spending bill to avert a government shutdown, a preview of the debate that's certain to dominate the coming months on deficits and the ceiling on money the nation can borrow.
The president said that he doesn't expect either side to get everything it wants in negotiations and that he's pushing for "a smart compromise that's serious."
He warned of dire consequences if the debt ceiling is not raised before it hits its limit of $14.3 trillion; the administration says the latest Congress could possibly act is by early July. But Obama said some longer-term questions about where the government trims its operations will have to be left until after the 2012 presidential election.
Obama's remarks about the relationship between lifting the debt ceiling and the need for spending cuts was the clearest acknowledgement yet by the president or the White House that the two issues are intertwined. Republicans, particularly tea party-backed lawmakers in the House, have repeatedly said they would not vote to increase the debt cap without a significant step toward long-term deficit reduction — a point reiterated by Boehner on Thursday.
To win a second term, Obama must convince the recession-weary nation that he deserves more time to help the economy recover from a recession that began under George W. Bush.
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