Chuck On Nbc

What would it take to reach a debt deal?

“Breaking news” graphics play across TV screen.

Brian Williams: Good afternoon. We interrupt regular programming for this breaking news out of Washington — a remarkable turn of events in the showdown over the debt ceiling. President Obama is expected in the White House press room at any moment to announce a breakthrough deal under which Republicans have agreed to raise the debt ceiling through 2014, in exchange for Bo Obama, the president’s dog, being delivered as a hostage to the Tea Party caucus of the House Republican conference. NBC’s Chuck Todd is at the White House. Chuck, markets have already rallied on rumors of the deal. What can you tell us?

Chuck Todd: Brian, NBC News has learned the president struck this deal with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor late last night after concluding that John Boehner’s more balanced approach to deficit reduction, which included some revenue increases, would never get enough GOP votes to stave off a default. And with the president’s own party in revolt against Mitch McConnell’s plan to make Democrats “own” any debt-ceiling hike through a series of high-profile votes between now and Election Day, the president decided, as one top aide told me, that there was no choice but to “go creative.”

Williams: And now, the president

Obama appears at the podium. He looks grayer than ever.

Barack Obama: Good afternoon. I have a brief announcement. They say desperate times call for desperate measures, and that’s sadly the situation we find ourselves in today. We know this fight about the debt ceiling has not been about the debt itself. We know this because Republicans have all voted for a budget plan that would add more than $5 trillion to the national debt in the next decade. No, this fight is about leverage, pure and simple. It’s about the Republicans craving a “forcing device” at a time of divided government to gain the upper hand. Well, if Republicans insist on having leverage over me, I’m going to give it to them in a way that does the least harm to the nation. You all know how much I love Bo — he’s the friend a president needs in a town like Washington. But I can’t let my love for a Portuguese Water Dog outweigh the well-being of 300 million Americans — not to mention the billions around the world whose welfare would be at risk if the United States defaulted on its debt and threw the global economy into a tailspin.

From Playboy to Chuck, NBC sets Fall 2011 premiere dates - HitFix.com

NBC's first premiere will be the Tuesday, September 13 return of "Parenthood," which will get a boost from the final performance episode of the "America's Got Talent" season. The next night, new comedies "Up All Night" and "Free Agents" will air in the 10 p.m. hour after the two-hour "America's Got Talent" finale. The network will still introduce the majority of its schedule in the regular Premiere Week, starting with "The Sing-Off" and "The Playboy Club" on Monday, September 19. That week will also feature premieres for "The Biggest Loser," "Harry's Law," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Community," "Parks and Recreation," "The Office," "Whitney" and "Prime Suspect." Note that NBC's schedule is still banked around the timely return of the NFL season, with Sunday Night Football set to premiere on September 8. With the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears hoping open training camp on July 22 (and going head-to-head in the preseason opener on Aug. 7), the NFL and the NFL players' association remain in the midst of intense negotiations to end  what has already been a 113-day (as of July 6) lockout.

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