Awwal 30, 1432 / March 5, 2011, SPA -- U.S. President Barack Obama is urging lawmakers to find common ground on a budget deal to avert a government shutdown and says he is willing to agree to steeper cuts to get there. The President issued a call for compromise Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address but without offering any specifics on how to bridge the $50 billion gap that divides the White House and Democratic budget proposal from the much steeper cuts offered by Republicans. "We need to come together, Democrats and Republicans, around a long-term budget that sacrifices wasteful spending without sacrificing the job-creating investments in our future. My administration has already put forward specific cuts that meet congressional Republicans halfway. And I'm prepared to do more," said President Obama, although the claim that Democrats are meeting Republicans halfway only stands up under the Democratic explanation of the intricate numbers game being played on Capitol Hill. "But we'll only finish the job together -by sitting at the same table, working out our differences and finding common ground," the President said.
