Obama Decries ‘Dumb’ Cuts as US Fails to Avert Budget Drama

WASHINGTON, March 1 (RIA Novosti) – US President Barack Obama on Friday criticized Republican leadership in the US Congress after the White House and lawmakers failed to secure a deal to halt a mandatory $85 billion in across-the-board federal budget cuts from going into effect at midnight. “I am not a dictator, I’m the president. Ultimately, if Mitch McConnell or John Boehner say we need to go to catch a plane, I can’t have Secret Service block the doorway,” Obama told a news conference Friday, referring to his brief meeting on the budget crisis with the Republican leaders …

Read more