Following up on President Obama's strong speech today, Press Secretary Jay Carney used the "e"-word with the press in describing recent Republican tactics:
MR. CARNEY: I think we've been sending very clear signals and obviously hoping that those signals are transmitted by you in this room clearly and accurately. The fact of the matter is the President has been willing in a demonstrated way to offer compromise solutions to our economic challenges and our budget challenges. And he has put his money where his mouth is with concrete, moderate, balanced proposals to do that.
And he has met with Republicans all year long who -- Republican legislators who have said that they are interested in finding common ground. And he is absolutely willing to continue to have those kinds of negotiations. What he will not do is engage in an attempt by Republicans to extort from him what they could not get through the legislative process, what they could not get at the ballot box, what they could not get at the Supreme Court of the United States, and offer as an alternative to getting what they want through extortion, tanking the economy and crushing the middle class. He will not do that.
And as many, many Republicans have said, as many, many business leaders have said -- it is an irresponsible approach to take.
snip
You were not elected to tank the economy. You were not elected to punish the middle class in order to achieve a political objective that you lost through the legislative process and you lost through the elective process, and you lost through the judicial process.
Briefing by White House Press Secretary Jay Carney: government shutdown and GOP 'extortion'
President Obama beat McCain and beat Romney. This fight now is about his presidency. Republicans may damage the nation and its people during this struggle, but they will damage themselves more.
We can not run from this fight. It has found us and here we must stand. We can do no other than to stand and fight. Republicans will not stop until they shoot the hostage and pay the price. And Republicans soon will bear the wrath of the American people.
(Hat tip to the Transcripts Editors people. They do great work but sometimes people don't have time to read the full transcripts. I took some good quotes from them for this diary.)