A leading Republican involved in the increasingly contentious debt-limit negotiations accused the White House Tuesday of “smoke and mirrors,” as the deadline to increase borrowing loomed and Republicans and Democrats seemed farther apart than ever. GOP leaders are flatly rejecting President Obama’s call to raise taxes on the wealthy as part of a bipartisan agreement to restrain the nation’s mounting debt. Obama, for his part, has warned that he is looking for a significant slashing of the debt, and sacrifices from across the economic spectrum, rather than a more incremental approach. Read full article >>