Til Debt Do Us Part

President Obama said in a news conference on Friday he was optimistic that lawmakers could "achieve a big deal", but warned that time was running out, and that the nation was potentially facing an economic "Armageddon". He also pointed to several new polls indicating the majority of Americans believe raising taxes is a viable way to hold down the debt ceiling. Obama's news conference comes after a week of reports of acrimonious meetings between the President and GOP lawmakers on the debt issue. We devote today's entire program to the debt ceiling stand-off. (Full credit to NPR's Political Editor Ken Rudin for today's clever headline.)

This week, we're joined by David Winston, sitting in for Tony Blankley, and special guest panelist Laura Tyson.

Banner image: President Barack Obama speaks during a press conference on July 15, 2011 in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on the status of efforts to find a balanced approach to deficit reduction. Photo by Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images