Obama Makes Case For Broad, Balanced Deficit Plan
Michele Norris talks about an interview that President Obama did with NPR's Michel Martin.
ROBERT SIEGEL, Host:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.
MICHELE NORRIS, Host:
Today, in an interview with NPR, President Obama made his case for a broad and balanced plan to cut the deficit. Mr. Obama said any compromise should include new revenues from an overhaul of the tax code, as well as spending cuts. But he had this caveat.
BARACK OBAMA: I think what's absolutely true is is that core commitments that we make to the most vulnerable have to be maintained. And so, a lot of the spending cuts that we're making should be around areas like defense spending, as opposed to food stamps.
NORRIS: And here's what the president said when asked why the deficit negotiations have been so difficult.
OBAMA: I think that there's some politics and, you know, compromising with me among some Republican leaders is bad politics for them. I also think that, in fairness, that the decisions we've got to make right not are tough ones and nobody likes them.
NORRIS: You can hear more of Michele Martin's interview with President Obama tomorrow on NPR's TELL ME MORE and also at NPR.org.
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