In government shutdown battle, it's Obama vs. House Republicans vs. Tea Party
As the threat of a government shutdown looms over Capitol Hill, the budgetary battles persist between the Obama administration, House Republicans and the Tea Party. On Friday, the White House cautiously touted a drop in the unemployment rate to 8.8 percent this month.
CBS News political analyst John Dickerson discussed these budgetary issues and the political effect on President Obama on his weekly reporters roundtable. His guests: National Journal congressional correspondent Major Garrett, Washington Post national political correspondent Karen Tumulty and Time magazine senior correspondent Michael Crowley.
"Nothing is going to be more determinant on whether or not President Obama gets re-elected or not than how people feel about the economy," Tumulty said.
But the Obama administration and a Republican-controlled House of Representatives differ on how to approach economic problems, including how to fund the federal government. The current continuing resolution funding the government expires in one week.
"As this gets fought out, these job numbers help the administration say 'maybe we don't need to cut as much, maybe things have turned a corner,'" said Garrett, pointing out that job numbers bettered in January, February and now March.
"The phrase you're going to hear over and over again from the lips of Boehner and also a number of the presidential candidates is that Republicans right now control [just] one-half of one-third of the federal government," Tumulty said.
The Obama administration isn't the only opposition House Republicans face. The panel also noted the pressure on Speaker John Boehner from the Tea Party.
"They [the Tea Party] have very high expectations," said Crowley, who recently wrote about the Tea Party and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) for Time. "They just did not seem at all interested in the idea that compromise was inevitable."
Dickerson also discussed the on-going crisis and military efforts in Libya, 2012 politics and possible Republican presidential nominees on "Washington Unplugged" Friday. Watch the full webcast in the video above.
