President Obama delivered a blistering attack on House Speaker John Boehner Thursday, saying the blame for the federal government shutdown falls squarely in his lap.
"There are enough Republicans and Democrats in the House today," to pass a clean budget bill and put the government back to work, Obama said, if Boehner would let the body vote. But, he added, Boehner, "doesn't want to anger the extremists in his party."
Obama warned the shutdown -- now in its third day -- is threatening the fragile economic recovery.
"The worst part is this time, it's not because of a once-in-a-lifetime recession, it's happening because of a reckless Republican shutdown in Washington," he said.