As officials prepare for debt talks Sunday, Obama says they can meet the challenge

The Wall Street Journal: Obama: Parties Can Agree On 'Big Things' .
President Barack Obama said Saturday that despite broad differences, he and Republicans agree on "some of the big things," including that the end goal of the deficit talks is to solve the country's fiscal woes. "We agree that after a decade of racking up deficits and debt, we finally need to get our fiscal house in order. We agree that to do that, both sides are going to have to step outside their comfort zones and make some political sacrifices," Mr. Obama said in his weekly radio address to the nation. ... The main sticking point in the debate is over spending on entitlement programs and taxes (Favole, 7/9). 

The Hill: Obama Calls For A 'Balanced Approach,' Sacrifices In Debt Deal
As the debate intensifies over raising the debt ceiling and kick-starting the economy, President Obama attempted to rise above the fray in his weekend address. "We can meet our fiscal challenge," the president said. "That's what the American people sent us here to do. They didn't send us here to kick our problems down the road. That's exactly what they don't like about Washington. They sent us here to work together. They sent us here to get things done" (Klateil, 7/9). 

Politico: Nancy Pelosi's Back At The Negotiating Table On Debt Ceiling
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is back at the bargaining table — but it's not yet clear whether she's willing to make a deal. Burned by President Barack Obama's decision to keep her out of negotiations on last year's tax deal and this spring's budget bill, sources close to the California Democrat say she is torn between playing deal-maker on a debt limit increase and fully protecting the priorities of Democrats' liberal base. ... "She's not averse to a deal," said one of her closest allies in the House. But, that lawmaker said Pelosi's first priority has been to defend Democratic values — to push back against Medicare and Social Security cuts envisioned by some of the negotiators (Allen, 7/8).

The Hill: Following Pelosi's Lead, House Dems Dig In Their Heels On Entitlements
Behind their leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Democrats are solidifying their resistance to including any entitlement cuts in a debt-ceiling package. Pelosi met privately with President Obama and Vice President Biden Friday morning to lend the White House "a clear understanding of the terms for how we go forward," she told reporters afterwards (Lillis, 7/8).

Politico: Debt Limit Deal A Key Moment For John Boehner
House Speaker John Boehner could be taking the biggest gamble of his 20-year congressional career. Along with President Barack Obama, the Ohio Republican has emerged as the strongest proponent of the "big" deal on increasing the U.S. debt limit — a package that is likely to include more than $4 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years, including changes to popular entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security (Bresnahan and Sherman, 7/8).

The Hill: Relationship Between Obama, Boehner Builds At Critical Moment
The relationship between Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and President Obama is building as they head into a critical meeting aimed at ending the impasse over raising the nation's debt limit (Hooper, 7/9). 

The Hill: Big Debt Deal Threatens To Split Republicans Over Tax Reform
Republicans on Friday grappled with the possibility that broad changes to the tax code could accompany a grand bargain to raise the debt limit and reduce the deficit. ... That goal appears to have cracked open a fissure between Boehner and his top lieutenant, Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who, along with Senate GOP whip Jon Kyl (Ariz.), voiced support in a Thursday meeting at the White House for pursuing a more modest $2.5 trillion deficit deal modeled on a blueprint hatched in talks led by Vice President Biden (Berman and Becker, 7/8). 

The Associated Press/New York Times: No Free Pass For Medicare Recipients In Debt Talks
A debt-busting deal on the scale that President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner are seeking all but guarantees that people on Medicare would feel at least some of the pain. Low-income people on Medicaid wouldn't escape totally, either. If a deal ultimately leads to overhauling taxes, workers and their families could be on the hook also, facing potential limits on the tax-free status of job-based health insurance. Health care is a main ingredient on both the spending and tax sides of the elusive agreement that Obama and Boehner, R-Ohio, are trying to reach (7/9).