Obama, Republicans clash in debt talks

President Barack Obama clashed with Republican lawmakers on Wednesday in a fierce White House meeting on deficit reduction that left a deal in question as the clock ticked toward a debt default.

"Enough's enough," Obama said, according to a Democratic official familiar with the talks.

The meeting came as Moody's Investors Service jolted Washington with a stark warning that the United States may lose its top credit rating in the coming weeks if the $14.3 trillion limit on America's borrowing was not raised.

Potentially souring efforts to raise the debt ceiling while putting off talks about spending cuts and tax increases, Moody's said it would likely assign a negative outlook to the nation's gold-plated credit rating if a credible agreement with long-term deficit reduction measures was not achieved.

That warning sent the dollar tumbling against most major currencies. Stock futures and debt prices also fell.

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Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican leader in the House of Representatives, said the talks on Wednesday became so acrimonious that Obama walked out.

"He said he had sat here long enough. No other president, Ronald Reagan wouldn't sit here like this," Cantor told reporters.

Democratic officials called Cantor's account overblown.

The two sides will meet again on Thursday at 4:15 p.m. EDT

The White House and Congress must forge a deal to raise America's debt limit by August 2 or the government will run out of money to pay its bills and default on some obligations. But they have so far failed due to a sharp divide over taxes.

The president and lawmakers met for nearly two hours on Wednesday, to cut a deal. Republicans demand $2.4 trillion in spending cuts in return for supporting an increase in the debt limit. Democrats and Obama insist on tax increases for the wealthy as part of a deal.

Obama accused Republicans of partisan posturing that was keeping the two sides from agreement.

Taxes will dominate the discussions on Thursday. The president has set a Friday deadline for agreeing a way forward, officials from both parties said.

WASHINGTON STALEMATE