President Obama is about to speak to reporters about the meeting this morning with congressional leadership in resolving the sequester. You can watch a livestream here.
8:41 AM PT: President Obama says we shouldn't be making "dumb, arbitrary cuts" that are unnecessary, and it's inexcusable to be making these cuts now with the economy still trying to grow. So it sounds like not a lot of progress was made in this meeting.
8:42 AM PT: He says that while the cuts won't hit and hurt immediately, they will "grow each passing day," and do real damage to the economy and unemployment.
8:43 AM PT: He slams the GOP Congress, says it has continued to protect tax breaks for the wealthy and well-connected, finding that more important than cuts to defense and other programs.
8:44 AM PT:
Obama: "Sequester could cost 750,000 jobs. None of this is necessary. It's because of a choice Republicans in Congress have made."' @politicoroger via web
8:45 AM PT: He says, "The majority of the American people agree with me," and Republicans need to catch up.
8:46 AM PT: "There are other areas we can make progress," even as they work on resolving the sequester. That includes his agenda as laid out in the state of the union speech.
8:47 AM PT: He's still hinting that he's ready for that grand bargain, including entitlement reforms, that the "caucus of common sense whose voices aren't being heard right now," is ready to do things his party might not like.
8:49 AM PT: "I recognize it's very hard for Republican leaders to appear to be making concessions to me." That's an understatement.
Head below the fold to see what the president had to say about Jedi mind-melds, whether the president can order the Secret Service to hold Boehner and McConnell hostage, Prop 8, and why the deficit isn't the be-all and end-all in our economy.
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