Real News:' Obama Initial Debt Deal Offer More Like Democrat Wish List

The Obama administration's initial offer on a debt deal before the looming Fiscal Cliff has left the right and main stream media laughing.  The “wish list,” as it is most kindly put, includes $1.6 trillion in tax increases, very vague references to spending cuts that maybe will happen later, and a total elimination of the debt ceiling. The offer was immediately panned by Republicans. 

“No substantive progress has been made between the White House and the House in the last two weeks,” House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday.

In presenting the proposal, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner requested a permanent end to the debt ceiling, even though the debt ceiling is not part of the larger Fiscal Cliff but is something that will likely come to the political forefront again in the immediate future. Democrats want to eliminate the debate and debt limit now as part of what they call overall a “grand bargain."

On "Real News" Friday the panel discussed the more noticeable points of the president’s Fiscal Cliff wish list, including the debt ceiling request. Watch a clip from the show below: