The rhetoric is sounding more and more dire about a government shutdown, and the Intrade markets had the odds in favor of it happening at 52%-48% about 1pm ET. That's up from 40% about noon. President Obama, Harry Reid, and John Boehner have another come-to-Jesus meeting today, following a morning of pessimistic comments, notes the Washington Post.
- Reid: "The numbers are basically there, but I am not nearly as optimistic—and that’s an understatement—as I was 11 hours ago. ... If this government shuts down, and it looks like it’s heading in that direction, it’s going to be based on my friends in the House of Representatives focusing on ideological matters that have nothing to do with funding this government."
- Boehner: “We made some progress last night. Or at least I thought we did. ... There is no agreement on a number. In fact, I think we were closer to a number last night than we are this morning."
Click to read one analysis about why the Obama-Reid-Boehner trio
genuinely wants to avoid a shutdown. (More
government shutdown stories.)