Barack Obama, Federal Debt | featured news

President Barack Obama, two years into a presidency that increased spending to prime a weak economy, is turning his attention to the nation's crushing debt and trying to counter a Republican anti-deficit plan with a framework of his own that tackles politically sensitive health care programs while also increasing taxes....

The White House on Monday urged Republicans not to tie an increase in the U.S. debt ceiling to spending cuts and admitted that President Barack Obama's own vote against an increase in 2006 was a "mistake".

President Obama will address the economy and the federal debt in his State of the Union speech, which will be his opportunity to showcase his shift to the political center. President Obama plans to use his State of the Union speech Tuesday to articulate a centrist vision that will shape the remaining two years of his term and provide a template for his reelection campaign.

President Barack Obama is getting a bump in his approval ratings from an improving U.S. economy but Americans want him to focus on reducing U.S. debt and spending, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Wednesday.