There seemed to be no forward progress on the debt limit today in Washington, D.C., as leaders of both parties substituted news conferences for negotiations, with each side blaming the other for not making tough choices about the budget.
"We have a chance to stabilize America’s finances for a decade, for 15 years, or 20 years, if we’re wiling to seize the moment," President Obama said at his second White House news conference of the week.
But in Mr. Obama's press conference, a separate one with Democratic leaders in the House, and a third with House Speaker John Boehner, there was no give on either side of the ball, as the impasse over the debt limit continues.
"President Obama has been talking tough about cutting spending, but his deeds aren’t matching his words," grumbled Boehner, who accused the Democrats of foot dragging on a debt limit deal.
"While Republicans have focused on the big problems we face, this White House has focused on protecting the status quo," said the Speaker.
From the Democratic side of the aisle, that kind of talk wasn't washing either, as their leaders accused the GOP of not doing enough to reach a deal.
"What we saw at the table was an attempt by the Republicans to increase the cost to students by over 30 billion dollars without taking one red cent of sacrifice from the wealthiest people in our country, from corporations sending jobs overseas, tax subsidies for Big Oil," said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.
And so, nothing really changed on this Friday. All sides got out their message, took some jabs at the other and then talked about how they want to reach a deal.
Mr. Obama said nothing about another negotiation session at the White House - maybe there will be one this weekend, maybe not.
It was a very public demonstration of why those talks have not produced a deal, as both sides remain firmly entrenched, pointing the finger of blame at the other side.
Meanwhile, August 2 continues to get closer.
As I wrote on Twitter, this was like a travel day in baseball, where very little happened.
