About those budget negotiations...

Republicans prove every day that hypocrisy is not a fatal disease.
After 8 years of W's leadership in which 2 unfunded wars were fought, and allowing the complete collapse of the economy, they've realized that deficits are not a good thing and we are in a crisis.
The government will run out of money around the first of August unless the debt ceiling is raised and in the discussions to raise it, republicans are demanding massive cuts (trillions over the next ten years) but say that any tax increases are off the table. Allowing the federal government to default on its obligations is generally believed to be a very, very bad thing.
And republicans know that democrats are too responsible to allow default, and they will therefore use that good trait against them.
This is not negotiation, it is extortion. Taxes on the rich are lower than they have been in over 50 years, yet they should not be required to share the burden that the middle class have found imposed on them in the last few years.
It wouldn't be fair to ask some sacrifice of them, so we must punish the poorest of the population by cutting funding to what has become essential services.

and one of my favs, Paul Krugman writes:

Debt Limit Stakes

So, here’s where we are on the debt limit discussions: Democrats have agreed to large spending cuts, but are holding out for doing something about

a rule that lets businesses value their inventory at less than they bought it for in order to lower their tax burden, a loophole that lets hedge-fund managers count their income as capital gains and pay a 15 percent marginal tax rate, the tax treatment of private jets, oil and gas subsidies, and a limit on itemized deductions for the wealthy.

And Republicans walked out.

Think about it. There’s a significant chance that failing to raise the debt limit could provoke a renewed financial crisis — and Republicans would rather take that chance than allow a reduction in tax breaks on corporate jets.

What this says to me is that Obama cannot, must not, concede here. If he does, he’s signaling that the GOP can extract even the most outrageous demands; he’s setting himself up for endless blackmail. A line has to be drawn somewhere; it should have been drawn last fall; but to concede now would effectively mean the end of the presidency.