Associated Press Release

By JIM KUHNHENN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is warning Republicans not to create another fight over the nation's debt ceiling, telling business leaders it's "not a game that I will play."

Obama says in remarks to the Business Roundtable that he has heard of reports that Republicans may be willing to agree to higher tax rates on the wealthy and then come back in 2013 with more leverage to extract spending cuts in exchange for raising the government's borrowing limit.

Obama says that approach is "a bad strategy for America." He tells the group of chief executives that he wants to break that habit before it even starts.

AP-WF-12-05-12 1627GMT

Associated Press Release

By ANDREW TAYLOR
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The top Republican negotiator in talks with President Barack Obama on avoiding economy-jarring tax increases and spending cuts says it's time for the White House to respond to Monday's GOP offer.

House Speaker John Boehner says that "we can't negotiate with ourselves." The GOP plan mixes $800 billion in higher tax revenue with cuts to Medicare and a stingier cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security benefits.

The White House has dismissed the GOP plan since it fails to raise the top two tax brackets for upper-income earners -- a core campaign promise of Obama's and a central demand in the current talks. So far, Republicans say that is a step they're unwilling to take.

AP-WF-12-05-12 1617GMT