Obama Veto Threat Of GOP Spending Bill Ratchets Up Talk Of Government Shut Down

WASHINGTON -- Just hours after President Barack Obama insisted, in a rare news conference, that "there should be no reason at all for a government shut down" over budgetary debates, his office issued a veto threat to a Republican spending bill that ratcheted up talk of forthcoming government paralysis.
In a statement of administration policy released Tuesday night, the Office of Management and Budget formally announced the president's threat to veto a continuing resolution bill introduced by House Republicans to keep the government funded past March 4. The line in the sand hardly sent shock waves through Congress. Obama's opposition to the measure seemed almost pre-ordained, owing to the bill's sharp spending cuts on issues that Democrats hold dear: the Peace Corps, Pell Grants, and labor programs among others.
What the OMB statement did do, however, was up the stakes in what is setting up to be a contentious, high-stakes period before the government runs out of money in a matter of weeks. One top Republican aide, echoing the sentiment of colleagues on the Hill, called the veto threat "pure brinksmanship."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/15/obama-veto-threat-of-gop-_n_823783.html