Obama: These Should Be Our 3 Priorities Now

President gives 20-minute speech
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 17, 2013 10:36 AM CDT
Obama: These Should Be Our 3 Priorities Now
President Barack Obama speaks in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

It's a post-shutdown potpourri: facts and statements emerging the morning after. The latest, leading with President Obama's 11am comments:

  • Obama recaps: "Let's be clear: there are no winners here. The American people are completely fed up with Washington. There was no economic rationale for all of this. Probably nothing has done more damage to America's credibility in the world than the spectacle we've seen these past several weeks. It's encouraged our enemies ... and it's depressed our friends. The good news is we'll bounce back from this, we always do."
  • What's next: [There are] "three places where I believe we can make progress right now ... Pursue a balanced approach to a responsible budget ... finish the job of fixing our broken immigration system," and pass a farm bill. "We can get them done by the end of the year. There's no good reason why we can't govern responsibly despite our differences without lurching from manufactured crisis to manufactured crisis."
  • Lastly: "I've got a simple message for all the dedicated and patriotic federal workers who either worked without pay or were forced off the job these last few weeks. Thank you. Thanks for your service. Welcome back. What you do is important. It matters."
Also:

  • McCain lost his mama: In an interview with CNN this morning, the Arizona Republican made two bold statements. One, he promised no more shutdowns, ever. "We're not going to go through the shutdown again. People have been too traumatized by it. There's too much damage ... we're not going to shut down the government again. I guarantee it." Second, that old line about losing all your support but that of your family and your employees? How bad has it gotten for the GOP? "Well, I got a call from my mother who's 101," he said, joking he has "even lost my mother."
  • Ouch: Standard & Poor's initial analysis puts the cost of the 16-day shutdown to the economy at $24 billion. It also revises projected GDP growth from 3% to 2.4%, reports CNNMoney.
  • Rest easy, animal lovers: As of 10:36am, the National Zoo's Panda cam is back up, reports the Washington Post.
(More government shutdown stories.)

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