Debt Limit Gives Gop Leverage, Obama Demands Fix

Debt limit gives GOP leverage, Obama demands fix Associated Press Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 2:19 p.m., Thursday, December 6, 2012 WASHINGTON (AP) — The political fight that took the nation to the verge of defaulting on its debts last year is back, overshadowed by "fiscal cliff" disputes but with consequences far graver than looming tax hikes and steep spending cuts. Both sides have warned that plunging off the fiscal cliff — letting income taxes increase for all and kicking in deep cuts in defense and other programs — could rattle the fragile economic recovery. "If Congress in any way suggests that they're going to tie negotiations to debt ceiling votes and take us to the brink of default once again as part of a budget negotiation — which, by the way, we had never done in our history until we did it last year — I will not play that game," the president said. "Because we've got to break that habit before it starts," he said. In seeking to eliminate the debt ceiling as a recurring confrontation, Obama and his administration have the support of congressional Democrats and some key members of the business community. John Engler, the former three-term Republican governor of Michigan and now president of the Business Roundtable, has called for a five-year extension of the debt ceiling, arguing against its use as a bargaining chip for deficit reduction.