In a rare Sunday night statement from the White House press briefing room, President Obama announced that he and congressional leaders have reached an agreement to avoid default and reduce the deficit. The challenge ahead: selling it to rank-and-file Democratic and Republican members to pass the deal.

"This process has been messy. It has taken far too long," Obama said. "Nevertheless, ultimately, the leaders of both parties have found their ways toward compromise."

Obama described the details of the deal:
-- a one-time debt-ceiling increase that would last through 2012;
-- about $1 trillion in up-front spending cuts that wouldn't take place "abruptly";
-- and a bipartisan committee that must report to Congress by November that would further reduce the deficit by looking at taxes/revenues and entitlement spending

"Is this the deal I would have preferred?" the president asked. "No," he answered, adding that he would have preferred tax and entitlement reform to occur now.

In a conference call with his House Republican caucus, Speaker John Boehner went out of his way to stress that there isn't an agreement -- but rather a framework. "There’s no agreement until we’ve talked to you," he said, according to excerpts his office released. "There is a framework in place that would cut spending by a larger amount than we raise the debt limit, and cap future spending to limit the growth of government. It would do so without any job-killing tax hikes. And it would also guarantee the American people the vote they have been denied in both chambers on a balanced budget amendment, while creating, I think, some new incentives for past opponents of a BBA to support it."

"I realize that’s not ideal, and I apologize for it," he added. "But after I go through it, you’ll realize it’s pretty much the framework we’ve been operating in."

(Here is a Power Point presentation Boehner sent to his GOP House members before the conference call.)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell echoed Boehner's words. "I think I can say with a high degree of confidence that there is now a framework to review that will ensure significant cuts in Washington spending. And we can assure the American people tonight that the United States of America will not for the first time in our history default on its obligations."

*** UPDATE *** And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said this on the Senate floor: "I am relieved to say that leaders from both parties have come together for the sake of our economy to reach a historic, bipartisan compromise that ends this dangerous standoff... To pass this settlement, we’ll need the support of Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate. There is no way either party – in either chamber – can do this alone."

DECORAH, IA -- Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich made three appearances in Northeast Iowa on Saturday -- a pancake breakfast, a parade, and a county fair -- two of them tied to this town's 45th Nordic Fest.

The festival celebrates the area's Norwegian heritage, and it has been taking place there since 1967. Gingrich began his day eating pancakes and sausage at the Decorah Fire Department. He made his way around to every table in the two-room truck hall, shaking hands and asking for support in next year's caucuses.

The former House speaker then made his way to the Annual Nordic Fest Grand Parade a couple blocks from the local fire station. Gingrich and his wife Callista (who is in town to play the French horn in her Luther College band reunion Sunday) rode on a float with hay pulled by a big red tractor. The banners on the sides read, "The Winneshiek Country GOP welcomes Newt Gingrich." Amid other floats with Vikings, Wizard of Oz dancers, and clowns, the Gingriches threw candy and waved along the parade route.

After the parade ended, Gingrich commented on the ongoing debt crisis. He called President Obama "really irresponsible" and said he felt House Speaker Boehner's efforts are "steps in the right direction."

The last event on Gingrich's public schedule yesterday included a stop at the Mitchell County Fair in Osage, IA where he again greeted Iowans asking for their support in the caucuses. "I will be the only Newt Gingrich on the ballot," he said. Gingrich was escorted around the fair by State Rep. Josh Byrnes, who introduced the presidential hopeful to many locals, including small business owner Wally Rowcliffe.

Rowcliffe is undecided whom to support in the upcoming caucuses, but he noted, "Today would make a big difference, that he [Gingrich] had enough time to come and talk to us here in small town USA."

The Gingrich campaign said the candidate will be back in the Hawkeye State later this week.

SPENCER, IA -- Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann said she puts "principles over party" and is prepared, if elected, to be a one-term president. "So be it," she said today.

Bachmann spoke here to a crowd of about 150 people gathered at picnic tables at a local park, using a dry erase board to tally up the nation's $14.3 trillion debt, as well as warn against future spending. At one point, the dry erase board fell from the stand and Bachmann quipped, to laughs: "See, that's what will happen to the country if we don't stop spending."

The 45-minute speech also included comments on foreign policy. Bachmann vowed to draw a harder line against Iran's nuclear program, and criticized President Obama for ending the shuttle program. "Now, to get to space, we have to stick out our thumbs and ask for a ride from Russia," she said.

A woman in the audience interrupted to ask, "Can we change that?"

"Yes," Bachmann said. "It's called 2012."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has signed off on a debt-ceiling agreeement with the White House and congressional leaders -- pending caucus approval -- his spokesman Adam Jentleson said in an email message to reporters.

This statement came after Reid and Democratic leaders emerged from almost two hour meeting in House Minority Leader Nancy's Pelosi's office.

The final hold up? A GOP source with knowledge of the debt talks tells NBC News that the "last hurdle" to arriving at a deal has to do with cuts to the Defense Department.

In the event that the special commission -- or "Super Congress" -- fails to reach an agreement, and automatic cuts are triggered, the Obama administration would like to see Defense cuts equal 3% of its annual budget in the first year.

The GOP is saying that is way too high, and would like that number to come down to 2% or less.

Reporters caught Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid walking from his office to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's office on the House side. His message: There's not a deal yet, but getting one before the Aug. 2 deadline is in sight.

"We don't have the content of what the trigger would be," he said. "We have a few things we're still working on and there simply not done yet."

When asked if he's closer to a deal, Reid replied, "Well, closer than yesterday, but we still have a ways to go."

Moments ago, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid did not get 60 votes to invoke cloture on his debt-hike legislation. Fifty senators voted for cloture (to end debate), including one Republican: Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown. And 49 senators voted against cloture, including Democrats Ben Nelson, Joe Manchin and Reid and independent Bernie Sanders.

Why did Reid vote "no" for his own bill?

His "no" vote keeps the underlying bill alive to bring back later when/if agreement is reached for the expected deal between the White House and congressional leaders.

The Senate is in. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said on the floor, "There is no agreement that has been made," but he is "hopeful" and "cautiously optimistic."

He noted, however, that there is a compromise that is being worked on at the White House. But says it's crucial the deal is "long term."

Reid also played nice with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, thanking him for "wrapping his arms around" this issue.

"Cooperation is the only way forward," Reid said. "Compromise is the only way forward."

*** UPDATE *** Leist reports that Reid still plans to hold the vote for his plan at 1:00 pm ET, but his team expects it would fail. It would then be swapped out for the compromise plan.

*** UPDATE 2 *** Leist reports that Senate Republicans are expected to meet at 1:45 pm ET behind closed doors in the Capitol after the 1:00 pm ET vote. Aides say McConnell is not expected to present a final agreement, but this is all fluid, of course.

A source close to the House Progressive Caucus tells NBC News that after reading media reports about a potential debt deal between the White House and Senate Republicans, many members are, "sufficiently spooked."

They are worried about any cuts to Medicare and still believe that the president is slashing too many needed domestic programs without a revenue increase.

It seems that a caucus wide NO vote could be urged on the debt deal.

Obviously this could change as the real details of a potential deal come to light, needless to say, they aren't happy this morning.

Here are the members of the House Progressive Caucus:

Co-Chairs: Keith Ellison, Raúl Grijalva
Vice Chairs: Tammy Baldwin, Judy Chu, William "Lacy" Clay, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Chellie Pingree
Whip: Hank Johnson
Senate Member: Bernie Sanders
House Members: Karen Bass, Xavier Becerra, Earl Blumenauer, Robert Brady, Corrine Brown, Michael Capuano, Andre Carson, Donna Christensen, Yvette Clarke, Emanuel Cleaver, David Cicilline, Steve Cohen, John Conyers, Elijah Cummings, Danny Davis, Peter DeFazio, Rosa DeLauro, Donna Edwards, Sam Farr, Chaka Fattah, Bob Filner, Barney Frank, Marcia Fudge, Luis Gutierrez, Maurice Hinchey, Mazie Hirono, Michael Honda, Jesse Jackson, Jr., Eddie Bernice Johnson, Marcy Kaptur, Dennis Kucinich, Barbara Lee, John Lewis, David Loebsack, Ben Ray Lujan, Carolyn Maloney, Ed Markey, Jim McDermott, James McGovern, George Miller, Gwen Moore, Jim Moran, Jerrold Nadler, Eleanor Holmes Norton, John Olver, Frank Pallone, Ed Pastor, Donald Payne, Jared Polis, Charles Rangel, Laura Richardson, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Bobby Rush, Linda Sanchez, Jan Schakowsky, Jose Serrano, Louise Slaughter, Pete Stark, Bennie Thompson, John Tierney, Nydia Velazquez, Maxine Waters, Mel Watt, Peter Welch, Frederica Wilson, Lynn Woolsey

A Republican source close to the negotiations tells NBC News that both sides are "very close" to agreement on a two-step debt-ceiling deal.

It is essentially the original Boehner plan -- without the balanced-budget amendment and with modified triggers, what amounts to an escape hatch if a joint committee can't get the cuts needed.  The plan would get enough in cuts, roughly $1 trillion, to last about six or seven months.

At the same time, a joint congressional committee would be established that would be tasked with getting enough in cuts to raise the debt ceiling again and get past the 2012 election - in the range of $1.4 trillion to $1.8 trillion.

The source said the White House's concern was that if a joint committee couldn't find something, the White House wanted a way to access the second tranche. The original Boehner plan did not include a way without the joint committee finding something.

Here are the options if a committee can't find something:
1.    A balanced-budget amendment sent to states, which is "not going to happen," the source said. (NBC's Mike Viqueira reports there would be a separate vote on a balanced-budget amendment);
2.    Across the board cuts that include Medicare and Defense, but NOT Social Security. The goal is that just the threat of this should provide "total motivation" for a committee to find a solution.

The whole thing then triggers the McConnell disapproval process, in which a two-thirds majority would be needed to disapprove of the president's spending proposals.

The original Boehner plan didn't have the votes to pass the House in the first try this past week. But this should pass, because it should get the support of many Democrats. Democrats aggressively whipped against the original Boehner proposal.

A House GOP Leadership aide says, "Discussions are moving in the right direction, but serious issues remain. And no agreement will be final until Members have a chance to weigh in."

After a contentious Saturday, there appeared to be glimmers of hope that Congress could come up with a compromise to raise the debt limit by Tuesday.

A vote originally scheduled for 1:00 am ET this morning was delayed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) half a day to 1:00 pm ET today to buy time for both sides to hammer out a deal. Though the key procedural vote to overcome a filibuster is scheduled, as NBC's Chuck Todd points out, if a deal is struck that vote would not likely take place until later.

The Man to Watch: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). He says he’s “fully engaged” in talks with the White House, reportedly speaking with Vice President Biden yesterday four times. (They were the duo that was able to negotiate this past winter’s tax deal.)

The total amount both sides are looking at is in the range of $2.4 trillion to $2.6 trillion – in two steps: (1) About $1 trillion debt-ceiling increase now with offsetting cuts. That’s about the amount that both sides said about a month and a half ago that they’d agreed to already. That would last about six or seven months; and (2) A newly established committee would have to find another $1.4 trillion to 1.6 trillion in cuts before that debt limit would have to be increased again by about the end of the year or early next year. That would last through the 2012 election.

But the second part is a big sticking point. If the committee can’t find the cuts, then one agreement being talked about is triggering automatic spending cuts across the board, including what some believe amounts to cuts in Social Security. (Essentially, the proposal would cut $100 billion over 10 years by adjusting “cost of living” with a different measure of inflation than is currently used.)

The president wants a “trigger” so there is stability for the economy and markets in six months. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has said he doesn’t want to give the president carte blanche authority to raise the debt ceiling.

But where the automatic cuts will be implemented is being negotiated. The White House and Democrats want the potential pain to be spread around. And since no one is talking about “revenues” anymore – or raising taxes/cutting deductions for the rich – that could mean deep Defense cuts would be on the table.

Another sticking point is that Republicans say even though the Congressional Budget Office said Reid’s plan cuts about $2.2 trillion, they say assuming war-spending reductions should not be included. They call it a “gimmick” and not “real” cuts.

Another complicating factor for Reid, as he tries to shepherd a bill today that can get the 60 votes necessary to overcome a Republican filibuster, 43 of 47 Republicans sent a letter to Reid yesterday, saying they wouldn’t support his proposal.

At the end of the day, what gets out of the Senate could look more like Boehner’s original proposal – without the balanced-budget amendment -- than Reid’s.

The timeline:
Noon: Senate convenes

1:00 pm ET: Cloture vote – would need 60 votes to overcome a potential GOP filibuster. (But this vote is likely not to happen if there's a deal, because they would be voting on Reid's proposal. That's not what the ultimate deal will be.)

Then, it moves to a full vote.

Monday/Tuesday: Then, it’s up to Boehner when or how to bring it up in the House. The House shot down Reid’s proposal yesterday in a symbolic vote largely along party lines, but with a dozen Democrats voting with Republicans.

It could get a House vote Monday or Tuesday, if it passes the Senate today. And Obama could sign any time after that.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid just announced on the Senate floor that there is a delay in the vote scheduled for 1:00 am ET Sunday.

The vote will now be at 1:00 pm ET Sunday and the Senate will be in at noon.

Reid said there are negotiations with the White House and many elements to be finalized.

Reid said there is a “distance to go.”

The Senate is now adjourned.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, senior political adviser to Tim Pawlenty’s presidential campaign, told NBC News yesterday that she believes the former Minnesota governor is in a better position to do well in the Ames straw poll than her father, Mike Huckabee, was at this point in 2007. 

“He [Huckabee] had a much smaller organization,” she said. “It was a lot -- at this point -- less known. I would say that Gov. Pawlenty is probably somewhat ahead of where my dad was at this point in the straw poll.”

Huckabee, the affable former Arkansas governor who was also a Baptist pastor, finished second in Ames in 2007, but went on to win the caucuses. He had strong support from the religious voters, who campaigned hard for him.

For some perspective, Pawlenty is at 6% in the latest Des Moines Register poll out June 26, putting him in sixth place -- and gets only 2% from Republicans in the latest Gallup poll.

In the July 2007 NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll, Huckabee received just 1% of support from Republican voters, and in May 2007, he was at 4% in Des Moines Register poll.

On Ames expectations
SANDERS: “In the straw poll, I think he just needs to show progress from where he’s been and show that there’s some forward movement. I think he’ll do that. As far as the caucus goes, it’s a long way from now, but I think he needs to do extremely well in the caucus. You know, it’s one of those things that, it may change between now and then, depending on the environment. … We were polling six or seven [in the] last Des Moines Register poll, which is probably one of the bigger, more credible polls in the state -- so ahead of that. Anything better than 6 is progress.”

On a possible run by Texas Gov. Rick Perry
SANDERS: “I certainly think that he could have an impact, but so much of that, you know, he hasn’t been through this process. We haven’t seen him really be vetted; we haven’t seen him go through the day-to-day of presidential campaign rigors. So I think a lot of that’s yet to be determined, so we’re staying focused on our campaign. There have been a lot of people who said they were going to get in but didn’t, and so I think the most important thing for us is to stay focused on our campaign and our message. And that’s not going to change based on who gets in the race.”

Working for Pawlenty vs. working for her dad
SANDERS: “The environment is very different now than it was four years ago. You’ve got a much more aggressive electorate than you did four years ago. But at the same time there are a lot of similarities in the sense that Iowans take their role extremely serious; they’re very responsible voters. They ask hard questions and actually show up and ask questions. They don’t just come because they’re supporting, they come because they want to know who you are. They want to look you in the eye, and they want to be able to ask you something that’s important to them, and then see how you respond to it. I think Iowa is a great starting place for the presidential election for that reason alone. You know, most people expect not to just know who each candidate is, but they want to meet them, look them in the eye like once or twice and maybe even have you in their home at some point. You know, so it’s a very retail politics oriented, but I think it’s a good judge of, you know, how a person really is and the authenticity of them. And I think a person like Gov. Pawlenty will do extremely well here.” 

On Pawlenty Iowa strategy
SANDERS: “We’ll continue [the] bus tour right up until the straw poll. Our main thing is just getting the governor’s message out and letting him get in front of as many Iowans as possible because the more people that meet him, the more people the love him. And the more people coalesce around him are starting to get energized by what he’s saying and what he’s doing and what he’s done in the past. And so our goal is, he’s going to be the best salesman of himself that anyone could be, so we want to get him in front of as man Iowans as possible, so that we do well in the straw poll, which I think we will.”

On rest of GOP field
Sanders said she believes there are Republican candidates in the race without a record of accomplishment, but declined to give specifics.

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa -- Michele Bachmann spoke by speaker phone to a small group of about 15 people assembled in 100-degree heat in the parking lot of Dordt College here this afternoon. 

The Minnesota congresswoman running for president apologized for not being there in person, and explained she was in Washington in order to vote down the Reid bill. Earlier today, Bachmann canceled her weekend campaign events in the Hawkeye State because of possible debt-ceiling votes. Schedule permitting, Bachmann will try and call into the events.

During this call running around 15 minutes, she talked of her biography, adding that her early childhood took place in Iowa. She described herself as the founder of a small business who understands how to create jobs. She promised she had the "titanium spine" to carry out her vision of smaller government, and vowed again to dismantle President Obama's health-care law. 

Bachmann has one more event set to take place at 7:30 pm ET in Arnolds Park, IA. She said she would join her team tomorrow, telling the crowd here that she is getting on a plane to Omaha this afternoon.

NBC’s Anthony Terrell contributed to this post.

By a 218-210 vote, the House of Representatives just passed Speaker John Boehner's revised debt-ceiling legislation.

It was changed on Friday -- adding a constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment -- to secure passage after GOP leaders struggled to get enough votes on Thursday.

No Democrats voted for the legislation, while 22 Republicans voted against it.

After passage, Boehner issued this tweet:

House-passed bill should be passed by the Senate immediately & sent to POTUS, who should sign the bill into law & end this crisis

But it's highly unlikely that Boehner's legislation goes anywhere in the Senate, given that it will take 60 votes to pass anything out of that chamber, and given that the speaker's revision made the legislation more unappealing to Democrats.

Will President Obama and Congress find a way to raise the debt ceiling? Candidates crisscross Iowa to garner every vote.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel appeared on "MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell" reports earlier today, calling Speaker Boehner’s decision to add a balanced-budget amendment vote to his bill a “political” move.

“You know, look, let's not be fooled this balanced-budget term. It is not a balanced budget,” the congressman from New York said. 

“They are not interested in balanced budgets,” he continued, referring to House GOP members. “They are interested in one thing and one thing only; making the rich much, much richer and making the middle-class much, much poorer. And that is why you get delay after delay after delay.  nd that is why, as the clock runs out, instead of meeting in the middle, they are lurching further and further to the extreme right wing.”

Despite his frustration with some of his colleagues from across the aisle, Israel said he still thinks a bipartisan deal can be reached if both sides meet in the middle.

“Look, you know, I have never been in a situation where everybody agrees on what cannot happen, but one party refuses to agree on what can happen,” he said.  “And that's where we are now... I hope that good sense prevails, and that they don't do the political thing -- but they do the right thing by the American people.” 

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA –- During his two-week tour of Iowa, Republican presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty made it a point to stick around and talk to voters after his speeches and town halls.

While the former Minnesota governor stayed to ask voters about the issues that are most important to them, a handful of Pawlenty campaign interns stuck around to ask Iowa voters a different question: Are you going to the Ames straw poll on Aug. 13?

And: Do you need a free ticket or a ride?

Over the past two weeks, Pawlenty has covered about 1,700 miles of Iowa, with his campaign staff estimating to have reached 1,600 voters. In each stop, he has urged voters to support him in Ames, which has traditionally been the summer indicator of which candidates will do well in the Iowa caucuses.

But despite the ground effort that is being put into getting people to next month’s straw poll, his campaign isn't specific about what results they want to see next month.

The goal for Ames is to “show big movement,” Pawlenty campaign manager Nick Ayers told NBC News after a meet and greet here this morning.

“Moving one place is not real movement,” Ayers added. “Moving three to four places is real movement.”

National polls show Pawlenty hovering towards the bottom of the pack of Republicans seeking the presidential nomination. The latest Gallup poll shows him garnering just 2% support from Republicans.

On the stump, Pawlenty has been touting his executive record and national electability against that of his GOP competitors –- including some not-so-subtle jabs at Minnesota rival Michele Bachmann.

In Carroll yesterday, Pawlenty told voters, “I think an important question for you as you consider who to vote for in the Ames straw poll and the caucuses or beyond is: Has this person actually done any of it? Because after Barack Obama, I’m sick and tired of listening to people flap their jaw.”

Regardless of what the polls show (Gallup has Bachmann with 11% support from Republicans), the Pawlenty campaign argues the miles they covered in Iowa will pay off –- both at Ames and beyond.

“Our ultimate goal here in Iowa is to win the caucus,” Ayers said.

It appears that Speaker John Boehner has fixed his debt legislation to get the GOP support needed to pass it in the House.

The fix: Before President Obama could request a second debt-ceiling increase -- which would come in early 2012, under the Boehner bill -- a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution would have to pass both the House and the Senate. (The Senate has already tabled House GOP legislation that includes the Balanced Budget Amendment.)

With this revision, House GOP members left their conference meeting this morning optimistic that Boehner's new plan would pass the House.

Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) left the meeting and says the new Balanced Budget Amendment stipulation has changed him from a "no" to a "yes."

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), who was a definite "no" yesterday -- "bloodied and beaten no," as he put it -- is now on the fence, leaning on "yes."

Others were optimistic but skeptical of the new bill, saying they needed to see if before they made a decision.

The problem that this revised legislation now has, even if it passes: It will have a very difficult time getting 60 votes to clear the Senate.

"They have basically given the right wing even more than they have before," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters. "What is being done in the House is not a compromise."

Then he added about his own legislation, “The only compromise that there is, is mine.”

AMHERST, NH -- Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, took a brief break from a family vacation to press the flesh here in the Granite State.

Speaking to a group of about 20 voters in woodsy Amherst, Mrs. Romney explained why she's "100%" supporting her husband's second presidential campaign.

"After the last campaign, I let everyone know -- and I even had a camera to record -- it that I would never do that again,” she chuckled.

“I said that, however, after every pregnancy. Maybe my husband didn't really believe me,” she said. (The Romneys have five boys.)

"America needs to have a turnaround, and I thought you know, there's only one guy I know who really knows how to do turnarounds. That's Mitt Romney."

She cast this cycle’s campaign as a full family effort, with support from all 16 grandchildren. One of the Romney granddaughters will be taking a year off to work on the campaign. The 16-year-old will be home-schooled on the trail.

Romney then turned her focus on jobs, mentioning the word more than 15 times in her brief remarks.

“People who are independent, who have voted for the Democratic Party all their lives, if they're concerned about a job, they outta really consider this next election,” Romney told NBC News.

Mrs. Romney said the American economy needs a leader who has “had a job in the private sector” who “understands how jobs come and go.”

Democrats were quick to respond to Ann Romney touting her husband's economic record, citing statistics that Massachusetts ranked 47th out of 50 in the nation for job creation while Romney was governor from 2003 to 2007.

Making yet another statement in the ongoing -- and constantly evolving -- debt debate, President Obama today once again called for compromise, noting that Democrats and Republicans aren't that far apart in their negotiations.

"There are plenty of ways out of this mess, but we are almost out of time."

Speaking from the White House, Obama said any final solution must be bipartisan, and have support from both parties -- "not just one faction." He listed two approaches that achieve this: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's debt plan (which would cut more than $2 trillion in spending and raise the debt limit, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's plan (which would essentially give Obama the power of raising the debt ceiling).

"There are a lot of crises in the world that we can't always predict or avoid," he said, referring to natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes. "This isn't one of those crises."

Obama also said that he'd support some "enforcement mechanism" that triggers a second round of cuts and deficit reduction through entitlement and tax reform. What this trigger would be is currently one of the final sticking points between Democrats and Republicans.

But he repeated that House Speaker John Boehner's legislation -- which is being revised to get the GOP votes to pass it through the House -- "has no chance of becoming law," given the Senate opposition to it.

After Boehner’s failure last night, do Democrats now have more leverage in the debt fight?... What we learned last night: 1) The final House bill will need both GOP and Dem votes; 2) The old rules no longer apply in twisting arms for votes; and 3) Can Republicans govern?... Another question Democrats are asking: Do House Republicans really want to do this again in six month?... And Pawlenty and Huntsman escalate their rhetoric.

*** A game of leverage: Yesterday, we said that who’s up one day in this debt debate can quickly go down the next. And that’s precisely what happened on Thursday night, when House Speaker John Boehner -- who had appeared likely to get his debt legislation through the House -- had to postpone the vote. The reason: GOP leaders simply didn’t have the votes to pass it. Why does all of this matter, even though Boehner's bill is supposedly D.O.A. in the Senate? It’s about leverage. Had Republican passed their bill last night, it would have put pressure on the White House and Democrats, even though Senate Dems had vowed to oppose the Boehner bill. But with the GOP’s failure last night, Democrats suddenly have much more leverage than they did yesterday. Expect Mitch McConnell and a band of frustrated Senate Republicans (whom McConnell is simply trying to keep calm) to give Boehner a couple of hours this morning to try to pass his legislation again. But if that doesn’t happen, Senate Republicans might end up cutting a deal with Harry Reid and the Democrats -- moving things faster than any of us thought possible.

*** Final House bill will need GOP and Dem votes: Here’s another reason why Democrats suddenly have more leverage in this debt debate: We’ve heard that House leaders weren’t trying to flip just the last 10 or 15 votes yesterday. GOP leaders had already moved DOZENS of House Republican votes from "maybe" “no” to “yes.” What does that mean: There just aren’t enough House GOP votes -- by themselves -- to raise the debt ceiling. The eventual compromise bill is going to take 105 to 110 House Republican votes, as well as 105 to 110 House Democratic votes. So message to Kevin McCarthy and Steny Hoyer: Time to roll up your sleeves; Monday could be the REALLY long day.  

*** Do House Republicans really want to do this again in six months? Rhetorically, Democrats now have additional leverage in their fight to have a single debt-ceiling hike through 2012 (as opposed to the GOP desire to have another hike early next year). As White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer tweeted last night, “Someone remind me why @speakerboehner is dead set on doing this again in December?” And as a top Senate Democratic aide emailed First Read, "If this isn't reason enough to avoid doing all this over again in six months, what is?" Some Republicans might believe doing this again will make the president look weak at a time when Americans are actually beginning to tune into the election. Is that possible? Maybe, but it's just as possible that it turns into a total youknowwhat-show, and has more of what last night highlighted -- Republicans attacking Republicans and a party in disarray. So it's hard enough to imagine gambling with the U.S. economy at this point, but it also means gambling with your own political future and relevancy.

*** The old rules no longer apply: There are two more lessons we learned last night. First, the old rules to twist recalcitrant arms no longer apply. Tea Party and conservative House members don’t really care about important committee assignments. They don’t place a value on fundraising help. And earmarks and extra pork for their districts? Forget about it. As the Washington Post recounts, GOP Rep. Jeff Flake -- who opposes Boehner’s bill -- “praised the lack of horse-trading of the type that marred passage of Obama’s health-care legislation. ‘It is the most refreshing thing in the world to see what’s going on in there,’ Flake said. ‘This kind of negotiation a couple years ago would have cost about $20 billion.’” It is refreshing. But it’s also a curse if you’re trying to get things done.

*** Can Republicans govern? A second lesson we learned: It’s a legitimate question to ask if the Tea Party-fueled Republican Party can govern. Last night wasn’t just about Boehner failing to get the votes. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy were united with their speaker in trying to get votes for the bill. Some folks are trying to make this a referendum on Boehner's speakership, but could anyone else have managed this group? Bottom line: The entire GOP leadership doesn’t know how to manage the Tea Party and their conservative members. Boehner and Republicans have spent the last several weeks accusing President Obama of not leading. But as one GOP member told NBC’s Luke Russert: "Our message has been that we lead and Obama doesn't. That didn't happen [last night]." Obama himself referred to Boehner’s challenge earlier this month: “The politics that swept him into the speakership were good for a midterm election; they’re tough for governing.”

*** Today’s House tick-tock: Late last night, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's office released a list of the bills that will be considered today, and Boehner's bill is listed as one of those bills, NBC’s Frank Thorp reports. While it does not say when they will vote (because they don't know exactly what they will be doing/how much time they will need to whip the new bill), they say that it will not be earlier than 11:00 am. They are only expecting one series of votes. Thorp adds that a different bill is likely to be proposed, and because of the same-day rule that was introduced at last night’s 11th-hour emergency Rules Committee meeting, they will be able to introduce the new version of the bill and vote on it on the same day. Usually, the House will wait 72 hours after a bill has been introduced to vote on it.

*** Pawlenty and Huntsman escalate their rhetoric: As far as the action on the 2012 campaign trail, things are continuing to heat up. In Iowa yesterday, Tim Pawlenty went after his GOP rivals (and it’s pretty clear he was referring to Michele Bachmann here. "It's not much of a consolation prize for Iowa to have somebody who's right for that moment, who's exciting for the day but really can't be the nominee of the party, really can't beat Barack Obama," he said, per NBC’s Andrew Rafferty. While stumping again today in Iowa, Pawlenty echoed that line: “The main way we're going to goof this up as a party is to nominate the wrong candidate.” And on FOX last night, Jon Huntsman said this about the current debt debate, per NBC’s Matt Loffman: “My opponents in this race haven't even come up with what they support."

*** On the 2012 trail: As mentioned above, Pawlenty is in Iowa… Rick Perry and Rick Santorum address the Western Conservative Summit in Denver, CO… And Jon Huntsman, in DC, keynotes the College Republican National Committee

*** Friday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND) & Bob Corker (R-TN) on the state of play for a debt deal… Bestselling author Daniel Silva (who made #1 on WSJ’s list today!)… NBC’s Mike Viqueira, National Journal’s Reid Wilson and the Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin on 2012, debt, and more.

Countdown to Wisconsin recall general for GOP senators: 11 days
Countdown to Iowa GOP straw poll: 15 days
Countdown to Wisconsin recall general for Dem senators: 28 days
Countdown to NV-2 and NY-9 special elections: 46 days
Countdown to Election Day 2011: 102 days
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: 192 days
* Note: When the IA caucuses take place depends on whether other states move up

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The Washington Post: “House Speaker John A. Boehner abruptly canceled a vote on his plan to lift the federal debt limit late Thursday after failing to persuade recalcitrant conservatives to back the measure and help him avert an economy-rattling default.”

The New York Times: “Short of support from their conservative members, House Republican leaders on Thursday abruptly put off a vote on their proposal to raise the debt ceiling and cut government spending, throwing last-ditch efforts to avert a government default next week into disarray.”

“Inflexible House Republicans forced Speaker John Boehner late last night to put off an expected vote on legislation to raise the country’s borrowing limit, dealing a stunning blow to the GOP leader’s authority just days before the country is set to run out of money,” the Boston Globe writes.

The Daily News: “In an embarrassing setback for the Speaker and the GOP leadership, Boehner ordered a delay - and later recessed the House to twist arms - minutes before the vote. One by one, recalcitrant Republicans were marched into Boehner's woodshed for some tough-love counseling. Four hours after the vote was supposed to happen, House leaders gave up for the night. Hill sources reported Boehner was tweaking the bill to entice a handful of Tea Party holdouts - and hopes to pass it Friday.”

“The House Rules Committee convened at 11 p.m. to pass a rule allowing the GOP to revise and vote on the bill Friday,” The Hill writes. “The GOP leadership scheduled a meeting of the full conference Friday morning.” More: “House Republican leaders are extremely frustrated with members of their conference. There is a particular irritation at Sens. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C) for publicly opposing the House bill.”

Bloomberg: “House Republican leaders, four days before a threatened U.S. default and facing stiff resistance within their ranks to raising the U.S. debt ceiling, plan to make a second try at passing legislation that is headed for a Senate roadblock. Republicans led by House Speaker John Boehner were forced to scrap action on the measure late last night. They are considering a rewrite for a second time this week after face-to-face meetings with recalcitrant lawmakers failed to yield the votes to push it through the House.”

Harry Reid tweaked the GOP House for an inability to govern, per The Hill: "I apologize to everyone for the late hour, but we've been waiting for the House to conduct their business and they're having trouble conducting it.” (AARP endorsed Reid’s plan.)

The New York Daily News’ cover with the headline “Grow up!” depicts Harry Reid and John Boehner as babies in diapers having temper tantrums. The Daily News: “Holding us hostage.”

“Liberal group Americans United for Change is teaming up with a trio of large unions to air television ads attacking House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and seven potentially vulnerable Republicans for stance on raising the debt ceiling,” The Hill writes.

The Treasury Department will face growing pressure Friday to detail its emergency plans to operate the government next week after a House Republican revolt Thursday night complicated efforts for Congress to raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2,” the Wall Street Journal says.

“To avoid defaulting on U.S. government debt, the Treasury plans to prioritize its payments by ensuring that it will make a $29 billion interest payment to bondholders on Aug. 15. That would leave about $101 billion in cuts to others owed government checks in August, including contractors and recipients of Social Security benefits or military pensions. Obama administration officials have warned that missing any bond payments would constitute a default on government obligations, which could shake financial markets and possibly trigger another crisis and recession.”

“The Obama administration accused Iran yesterday of entering into a ‘secret deal’’ with an Al Qaeda offshoot that provides money and recruits for attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” the AP writes. “The Treasury Department designated six members of the unit as terrorists subject to US sanctions.”

Just asking, but how many Democrats shop at Home Depot? “Wall Street honcho Ken Langone took President Obama to the woodshed yesterday for acting ‘unpresidential’ and ‘petulant’ by pitting rich and poor Americans against one another during the bruising battle over the debt limit,” the New York Post writes. “‘He's not bringing us together. He's willfully dividing us. He's petulant,’ said Langone, a former director of the New York Stock Exchange and founder of Home Depot. ‘Ronald Reagan would never go into the Oval Office without his jacket on -- that's how much he revered the presidency,’ Langone said in a CNBC interview yesterday. ‘This guy [Obama] worked like hell to be president . . . Behave like a president. Let me look at you as a model to how we should behave. What does he say? Fat cats, jet airplanes. What is the purpose? Us versus them.’”

But Lagone also said… "People like me have to understand that it isn't business as usual. I think it's a travesty for a man of my success and my means to get anything from the federal government. I think I should pay more taxes."

BACHMANN: Two pieces of news -- and a glittering platter of little things -- emerged from Bachmann’s appearance at the National Press Club yesterday, NBC’s Jamie Novogrod notes.  The first news item: Bachmann’s re-affirmation of her opposition to Boehner’s debt bill.  The Washington Post notes Bachmann’s delicate effort to give Boehner credit for his effort, even as she announces she won’t support his plan.  But the Los Angeles Times describes the speech as an “open revolt.” 

Meantime, the Associated Press chose to lead its coverage of the speech with Bachmann declaring her family off-limits. Asked about the practice of reparative therapy for gay clients of her husband’s Christian counseling firm, Bachman said the focus should be on her. “My husband is not running for the presidency, neither are my children, neither is our business," she said. 

And then there are the little things that reporters learned from the Q&A at the Press Club: How does she consume her news? Via her iPad (“Thank God for iPads,” she said). Who is her favorite Republican president? Abraham Lincoln, with the caveat that George Washington is her “all-time favorite” president.  And who is her favorite Democratic president? Harry Truman, whom she said she admired for becoming president without a college degree -- and for his support of the creation of Israel. Truman, she added, was her father’s favorite president.

Novogrod adds that Bachmann has no events planned today. Her campaign released an Iowa schedule for the weekend, which will take her to Sioux City, Sioux Center, and Arnolds Park tomorrow; Spencer, Storm Lake, and Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Sunday; and Newton on Monday. 

CHRISTIE: After being released from the hospital yesterday, Christie answered a question about 2012 this way, per NBC’s Matt Loffman: "If I decided I wanted to run for president, I think you know me Charlie, I'd do it. And if there's people who don't think I'm up to it then they don't have to vote for me. But we're not at that stage of life at the moment so I don't have to worry about it."

HUNTSMAN: On FOX last night, Huntsman gave this comment about the debt debate on Capitol Hill: “This is what people hate about Washington, the fact that something this important to our well-being and our overall economic competiveness has been delayed until the 11th hour. The president has shown no leadership; he doesn't have a plan on the table. My opponents in this race haven't even come up with what they support."

He continued, “We've got to get on with this cancer that … has taken over this country. We need to cut it out. We need to radiate it. We need to excise it. This cancer has taken over this country, and we need to do something about it. And the Boehner plan, at least, begins that process of cutting that I think is terribly important." (The problem here: Boehner’s own plan couldn’t pass among House Republicans last night.)

PALIN: “Sarah Palin, in a bruising warning to House Republicans who are wavering and undecided on John Boehner's debt plan,” GOP 12 writes. She wrote: “All my best to you, GOP Freshmen, from up here in the Last Frontier. Sincerely, Sarah Palin. P.S. Everyone I talk to still believes in contested primaries.”

PERRY: Perry is headed to Denver on Friday for the Western Conservative Summit, where his name will appear on a 14-name straw poll ballot. Other potential candidates attending include Herman Cain, Rick Santorum, and John Bolton. 

The Austin-American Statesman's Jason Embry talked to an Arkansas state representative who met with Perry on Monday. "He certainly didn’t give any indication that he was backing away from the challenge and he didn’t give any indication he was standing still," said state Rep. David Sanders. 

The NYT: "A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed against Gov. Rick Perry of Texas by a national group of atheists seeking to block his participation in and promotion of a Christian-centered prayer rally next weekend."

“New Hampshire House Speaker William O’Brien is among the Granite Staters who were invited to meet with Texas governor and potential presidential candidate Rick Perry in Texas next week,” the Boston Globe reports. “O’Brien said he is interested in going to the Aug. 4 meeting, but has not made a final decision.”

ROMNEY: NPR notes the irony of Romney's refusal to engage on the debt ceiling fight: "He is the presidential candidate who sells himself for the White House on the basis of his experience as a successful businessman with economic savvy and as a problem solver. Yet, he refuses to engage fully on the debt-ceiling stalemate, a problem if ever there was one, even as the nation seems closer to default than ever."

Ann Romney, wife of Republican candidate Mitt Romney, took a brief break from a family vacation to press the flesh in woodsy Amherst, New Hampshire yesterday, NBC’s Jo Ling Kent notes.

NBC’s Carrie Dann, Garrett Haake, Jo Ling Kent, and Jamie Novogrod contributed.

NEVADA: “The TV air war in Nevada’s 2nd district special election is about to enter a new phase,” Roll Call writes. “The National Republican Congressional Committee is going on the air with a sizable buy less than seven weeks before voters go to the polls. The NRCC is the first party or interest group to spend significantly on the race via an independent expenditure.”

NORTH CAROLINA: “The Republican-controlled North Carolina Legislature passed a Congressional redistricting map into law late Wednesday, solidifying a substantial GOP political edge in the Tar Heel State for the next decade,” Roll Call reports.