Obama pins government shutdown on Boehner

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- President Barack Obama says House Speaker John Boehner is the only thing standing in the way of reopening the federal government.

Obama is speaking at a small business just outside of Washington on the third day of the shutdown. He says Boehner is preventing a vote on a funding bill because he doesn't want to anger "extremists" in his party.

The president is calling on Boehner to quickly hold a vote on a bill free of extra demands. The president met with Boehner and other congressional leaders at the White House for more than an hour Wednesday, but no agreement was reached.

Obama says the longer the shutdown goes on, the worse the impact on the U.S. economy will be.

Politically safe lawmakers see no shutdown urgency

The government shutdown could last for many days or even weeks because politically safe members in both parties feel little pressure to compromise.

Heavily gerrymandered districts and other factors make many House Democrats and Republicans virtual shoo-ins for re-election. Congressional insiders say that helps insulate them from events and emotions beyond their home regions.

Most House Republicans insist that President Barack Obama curtail all or part of his landmark health care law.

But Democrats say it's absurd to yield ground on a major accomplishment that survived a Supreme Court challenge and Obama's 2012 re-election.

Both sides appear dug-in thanks to lawmakers' ideological beliefs and the strong support they generally receive from voters back home.

Navy: Football game on, all other sports off

Football is on at Navy this weekend, although all other varsity and club sports are suspended because of the government shutdown.

The Defense Department said Thursday everything was on hold through Sunday except for Saturday's football game against Air Force.

Navy and Air Force received the go-ahead to play because the game is not funded by the government. A sellout crowd is expected.

Army, meanwhile, says on its website it is trying to "gain more clarity" about its scheduled game at Boston College.

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barack obama, republicans, obamacare, health care, health insurance, congress, government shutdown, politics

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