Brinksmanship Defines Obama Speech on Debt, Boehner's Response

President Obama's speech Monday was only one of two big addresses. Usually when the president gives a speech, he is the headline speaker of the day, but Speaker of the House John Boehner managed to upstage him in his response. As the countdown to the debt ceiling deadline gets closer, the two men charged with trying to forge a deal passed up another night of negotiations in lieu of trying to blame each other for the lack of progress.

Monday came and went without any deals or compromises, although the chaos will be small potatoes compared to next Monday. If things stay as they are a week from now, then Aug. 1 will be filled with even more blame and passive aggressive speeches between Obama, Boehner and their people instead of an actual deal.

With just over a week to spare, Obama and Boehner solidified their intractable positions in addresses aimed at their respective bases. Yet while the president tried to paint himself as a man of compromise, the Washington Post cited the speaker accusing Obama of wanting a "blank check" and being unwilling to "take yes for an answer."

While no one can say which side is closer to victory or a better deal, Boehner continues to dominate the narrative. He did so by walking out of negotiations a few days ago, and kept ramping up the attacks Monday. As such, the president has to play catch-up in his addresses by insisting that he is the balanced one of the duo while the back-and-forth takes up even more time that could be spent negotiating.

Yet there was little difference between the two in their speeches, at least when it came to their tone. The Financial Post concluded Obama was targeting "voters, not investors" in trying to shore up his base during these uneasy times. Likewise, Boehner had enough digs at the president to get his base fired up, although trying to please all of it may make it harder to get away with a compromise later.

The two played this game of brinksmanship months ago when the government was on the verge of shutting down. Ultimately, a deal was made there despite going down to the last minute, and it is still possible to believe the same result will happen with the debt ceiling.

Yet Obama and Boehner's speeches decreased that hope even further, the two adversaries resigning themselves to passing the buck. Since Boehner is more willing to pass it with harsher words, he presumably has the inside track toward making this a bigger defeat for the president with an eye more toward 2012 than Aug. 2.

But considering the big gap that must be bridged for a deal -- which was made clearer on Monday night -- how much time can really be spent on that end?

Sources

Washington Post- "Speeches by Obama, Boehner achieve political ends, but little else"

Financial Post- "Obama's debt speech targets voters, not investors"