Obama Slams Republicans in Debt Ceiling Press Conference

It's bluster, from the Bumbler-in-Chief.

At LAT, "Obama scolds GOP as debt talks break down: 'Where's the leadership?'":

In an unusual display of emotion, President Obama angrily responded to House Speaker John A. Boehner's abrupt withdrawal from talks on a debt ceiling increase, and summoned congressional leaders to the White House on Saturday for emergency talks to plot a new course before the Aug. 2 deadline.

"We have run out of time," the president said in a hastily-called news briefing, just moments after Boehner informed him of his decision.

On Thursday, Obama and Boehner appeared to be closing in on a deal that would have raised the debt ceiling through 2013, combined with spending cuts and entitlement reforms to achieve $3 trillion in deficit reduction.

But talks apparently broke down in a dispute over taxes. Obama, prodded by Democrats, insisted that any deal include new revenues in addition to spending cuts.

"This was an extraordinarily fair deal. If it was unbalanced, it was unbalanced in the direction of not enough revenue," Obama said. "It is hard to understand why Speaker Boehner would walk away from this kind of deal."

Not hard, actually. See Jennifer Rubin, "Boehner runs laps around Obama, again":

He’s been ridiculed by the media. Liberal spinners say he has lost control over the Tea Party. But in fact the Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) had a plan, stuck to it, and is likely to get much of what he wants.

In a remarkable press conference revealed that he had a deal with the White House on large debt reduction and $800 billion in additional revenue to be achieved through tax reform and enhanced enforcement. Boehner brought out his “Jell-O” analogy once again to describe the White House. He said bluntly, “It’s the president who walked away from his agreement and demanded more money at the last minute.”

Boehner is the composed “adult in the room” now. He, excuse the expression, called the president’s bluff — a viable deal with no tax hikes and Obama blinked (or sloshed in the other direction, to follow the Jell-O imagery).

All of this followed Obama’s appearance in which he angrily accused Boehner of walking away from the deal. (According to Boehner, Obama upped the revenue figure at the last moment.)