Boehner: Obama "absent" from responsibilities

Updated 3:00 p.m. ET

(CBS News) House Speaker John Boehner had harsh words for President Obama on the looming "fiscal cliff," saying the president has failed to lead.

"Where's the president? Where's the leadership?" Boehner said before answering his own question. "Absent without leave."

Boehner said he is "not confident at all" that the president and Capitol Hill can solve the "fiscal cliff" by the end of the year, which is when numerous tax cuts are set to expire and automatic spending cuts will go into effect - a dramatic turn in federal budget policy expecting to total $600 billion. Economists say failure to act would lead to an increase in unemployment and would severely damage the already sluggish economic recovery, causing a "significant recession," according the Congressional Budget Office.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., responded to the Speaker's comments, placing blame on Republicans for "intransigence and partisan obstructionism."

"The ball is in Speaker Boehner's court. Instead of going out for seven weeks, we call upon Speaker Boehner to work with Democrats across the aisle to restore fiscal responsibility with a balanced approach," Pelosi said in a statement.

Moody's Investors Service, a major credit rating agency, said Tuesday that if Washington does not address the pending fiscal cliff, the U.S.'s credit rating on its debt could be downgraded one level. Last year, the S&P cut the U.S.'s long-term credit rating to AA status last year after a divisive fight to raise the debt ceiling.

Boehner told reporters that the House of Representatives has already passed legislation to deal with the automatic budget cuts and tax hike but are stalled in the Senate. Any legislation that passes to deal with the looming crisis will have to be agreed upon by Democrats in the Senate and the president. Little action is expected until after the election.

[Verascity]

Crying John is obstructionist, worthless and should keep a lower profile to keep conservatives from looking any worse than they already do.

[FLHRC-12]

by Valid-Insight September 11, 2012 7:57 PM EDT
You have that right Mr Speaker.
All that low life Obama ever did was campaign from day one after he took the oath as president, golf, play basketball, travel around the world apologizing for America and sucking up to fair weather friend nations, go on million dollar vacations with his moocher racist wife and spend us into a 6 trillion debt our kids and grandkids will be trying to pay off for years to come.

He let the Congress do all the work while he took the credit.
The Democrats in the House were complaing about him letting them do all the heavy lifting while he took the credit and the bows for their hard work. The lazy community organizer was always running off when it he was being criticized for not doing his job or blaming Bush, the Congress and even the Ameican people and had the nerve to say "WE" had become a bit lazy and that was why the economy and unemployment was in the bad shape it was and is in.

Do we really want 4 more years of this worthless empty suit's BS as we head from recession to depression?
....
So are you trying to say Obama is a wothless lazy incompetent president who only wants to be president so he can spend, spend and live it up on the presidencial perks and prestige?

Then you are right 100%
I might add that he wan'ts to be able to completely destroy America as we have known it for over 200 years and turn it into a socialist cesspool.

[Go_for_it]

Hey Lindag20 - keep it up!

Boehner is a real piece of work - a worthless coward who can't stand up for his principles. He has let the TEA bags run over him big time!

[audemus]

Isn't it interesting how we always notice our own faults in others long before we spot them in ourselves ?

[TJphoto]

Mr. Speaker, If you & Mr. McConnel were not so obsessed with getting Mr. Obama out of office imagine what could have been. I remember "Jobs-Jobs-Jobs" from 2010. Do you?

[zenia5]

Mcconnell and his cronies even PUBLICLY stated that their PRIMARY goal for the next four years was to make sure this President FAILED. They did this at the expense of the entire country and apparently feel no remorse or responsibility whatsoever. How sad and sickening that the GOP has turned into such a hateful bunch.

[goat5691]

Mr. Boehner must surely have amnesia...he has forgotten that he IS part of Washington...the obstructionist part...how does a person like that justify being elected by the people he is throwing the screws to?

[tsigili]

Obama has been fundraising and campaigning for his reelection, ever since he was inaugurated.

We don't have a President......we have a dictator.

[JV1970]

I have to agree! He has used his executive privilege entirely too much. Whenever he wants something, if congress doesn't give it to him, he just uses his executive privilege and forces it on us anyway whether we want it or not!

[RollotheNorman]

LOL, Boehner the part-time congress critter saying somebody else is absent from his responsibilities? How far is the POTUS from the suitcase right now? How far is Boehner from the Speaker's Gavel?
I rest my case.

[GOP-R--Con-Men]

Boner and the republicans campaigned on creating jobs if elected. Instead they focused denying health care choices to women and on obstructing democratic bills to help struggling Americans. Republicans are a cancer on our great nation and they must be defeated if America is to make any progress.

[marychgo]

Since the 2010 "jobs, jobs,jobs" election, Boehner and his GOP caucus have voted more than 30 times to repeal part or all of PPACA ("Obamacare") and 20 or 30 times to restrict abortion and contraception. (No, there' NO Republican "War on Women.") They've passed what they call "jobs bills," most of which simply shovel money to rich people. So who's actually been "absent"?

[Lindag20]

by JV1970 September 11, 2012 10:18 PM EDT
Lindag20 You've been laughing at me for four years. It will be my turn to laugh at you on election night even if you do call it vengeance! I'll only be giving you a dose of your own medicine! If you can't take it don't dish it out! I'm going to show you the same amount of mercy that you've been showing me for four years and that's NONE!
--------------
Quite the Christian aren't you?

[JV1970]

Lindag20 Yes, I am but I'm going to repeat to you that if you can't take it don't dish it out because if Romney wins the election I'm going to give you the same treatment that you've been giving to me the last four years! That's only fair! You might as well grow up and act like an adult and get ready to take it!

[JV1970]

OBAMA4ALL This is your warning! If you abuse me I'll show you the same amount of mercy that I'm going to show Lindag20 when Romney wins the election and that's NONE!

[Thinkbeforeyouwrite]

May I add that the two wars were never paid for and are part of our national debt. I am sure many of you were all for the wars but they were never paid for because you did not want your taxes to go up. "Oh, yes." some of you said "let's go to war. I'm a true patriot. I'm sure our military will be able to handle that. WHAT! You want me to pay for the wars with higher taxes. NO! Just put it on the US charge card because I don't want higher taxes." So we have.

[Lindag20]

Exactly and now that the birds have come home to roost, everyone is going nuts becuase it's going to have to be paid for.

[Thinkbeforeyouwrite]

Drum: ObamaCare will help save lives not destroy them.

[Thinkbeforeyouwrite]

Nr. Boehner, look in the mirror and you will see the one "absent" from responsibilities. You and your henchmen, Clantor and McConnell were all not serving your governmental roles. The three of you were great as GOP mouthpieces and obstructionists, basically a pile of the waste from my dogs. You have some brass trying to foist the full responsibility for the problems with the economy onto the President. GTH, Boehner.