Republicans are accusing the White House of not negotiating, but President Obama said he's "bent over backwards" during his presidency to work with Republicans. He said he's "purposely" kept his "rhetoric" down -- (even as top White House aides have called Republicans terrorists.
"I think I'm pretty well known for being a calm guy," Obama said today during an interview with CNBC. "Sometimes people think I'm too calm.
"And am I exasperated?" he said of the government shutdown. "Absolutely I'm exasperated. Because this is entirely unnecessary."
He said that if House Speaker John Boehner were to put a bill on the floor to reopen the government at current funding levels, it would pass -- with some Republican and Democratic votes.
"The only thing that's stopping it is that John Boehner right now has not been willing to say 'no' to a faction of the Republican party that are willing to burn the house down because of an obsession over my healthcare initiative," he said.