Budget deal may be “impossible” – Obama

U.S. President Barack Obama greets Republican leaders, Speaker John Boehner (c) and Eric Cantor (r). PHOTO/ Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

President Barack Obama is conceding “we’re probably not going to be able to get a deal” on budget, tax and spending issues with Congress if Republicans continue to insist that no new revenues can be raised unless entitlement programs are significantly overhauled.

Obama, who has been stepping up efforts to talk to both Republicans and Democrats this week, tells ABC News that “ultimately, it may be that the differences are just too wide.”

(More: Obama reaching out to some Republican senators to resolve sequester)

In the interview broadcast Wednesday, the president says he doesn’t think such a stalemate would amount to a crisis. But he also says it would be regrettable. Obama says the purpose of his visits to Capitol Hill this week is “to identify what I call the common-sense caucus” in an effort to break the political gridlock.

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