The Carroll Standard

Woodward: Obama Altered the Debt Deal then Flew into "Fury" When Boehner Said No

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A new book by Bob Woodward, set to be released next week, backs up the earlier reporting with regard to the behind the scenes wrangling over the debt deal. Woodward confirms the grand bargain was killed by Obama's demand for more revenue after he and Boehner had already reached a framework for agreement. Woodward also reveals, for the first time, the President's rage over Boehner's refusal to go along with the demand:

at one critical juncture, with an agreement tantalizingly close, Obama pressed Boehner for additional taxes as part of a final deal -- a miscalculation, in retrospect, given how far the House speaker felt he'd already gone.

The president called three times to speak with Boehner about his latest offer, according to Woodward. But the speaker didn't return the president's phone call for most of an agonizing day, in what Woodward calls a "monumental communications lapse" between two of the most powerful men in the country.

When Boehner finally did call back, he jettisoned the entire deal. Obama lost his famous cool, according to Woodward, with a "flash of pure fury" coming from the president; one staffer in the room said Obama gripped the phone so tightly he thought he would break it.

"He was spewing coals," Boehner told Woodward, in what is described as a borderline "presidential tirade."

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