Good morning, Washington. I respectfully disrupt your editor-in-chief’s three-day heat lede, relegating the swelter to bring you the latest in political posturing. On Friday night, House Speaker John Boehner again walked away from a “grand bargain” on the debt. Obama and Boehner delivered dueling press conferences following the announcement, each putting their own fiery spin on the exasperating news that talks had failed. It would be comedy if it wasn’t so grave.
The rhetoric was reminiscent of a love affair gone wrong.
“A deal was never reached, and was never really close,” Boehner wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter distributed Friday. “In the end, we couldn’t connect.”
“I’ve been left at the altar now a couple of times,” Obama said.
Boehner said he will attend a debt meeting Saturday morning at Obama’s request. Boehner will join Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) at the White House at 11 a.m.
What do you think? Is this the worst Congress ever? Some more food for thought.
>> Friday broke heat records and the hellacious tear continues today with temperatures in D.C. set to reach 103. A “towering cumulus” may develop this afternoon with thunderstorms possible.
>> A train carrying almost 400 people became disabled outside of D.C. Friday. Fortunately for the passengers, the air-conditioning was working. NBC Washington reported that a rescue engine was set to tow the train to Philadelphia, where the engine would be swapped and the train could continue on its route to Springfield, Mass.
>> Two apparently coordinated and devastating attacks hit Norway Friday, with 84 people shot to death at a youth political conference outside Oslo after a bombing that hit government buildings in the capital killed at least seven people. Norway’s national broadcaster NRK named the suspect Friday as Anders Behring Breivik, who Norwegian media reported belonged to an extreme right wing group.
>> President Obama formally repealed the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy Friday. “As of Sept. 20, service members will no longer be forced to hide who they are in order to serve our country,” Obama said in a statement.
>> In sports, the Washington Nationals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-2 at Dodger Stadium Friday night, and the NFL is still on hold as players have yet to vote on the owner-approved proposal to end the league’s lockout
>> Metro news is weekend track work, bus detours, and we can temporarily drink bottled water on the metro system.
>> No lions, but wild boars, elks and kangaroos, oh my.
>> Graffiti is contentious and costly.
