This is mostly noteworthy in that it's the story Boehner and staff have been telling the whole time, and conflicts with the Administration's spin. If you believe the standard story that the deal failed because Boehner couldn't get the GOP in line, you owe yourself a read.
Politico summary: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/74163.html
Full WP article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obamas-evolution-behind-the-failed-grand-bargain-on-the-debt/2012/03/15/gIQAHyyfJS_story_1.html
Excerpt from WP:
What happened? Obama and his advisers have cast the collapse of the talks as a Republican failure. Boehner, unable to deliver, stepped away from the deal, simple as that.
But interviews with most of the central players in those talks ? some of whom were granted anonymity to speak about the secret negotiations ? as well as a review of meeting notes, e-mails and the negotiating proposals that changed hands, offer a more complicated picture of the collapse. Obama, nervous about how to defend the emerging agreement to his own Democratic base, upped the ante in a way that made it more difficult for Boehner ? already facing long odds ? to sell it to his party. Eventually, the president tried to put the original framework back in play, but by then it was too late. The moment of making history had passed.
Re: WP: Obama changed his mind, killed grand bargain
Boehner, Cantor, and Obama agreed to +$800B in tax increases (with dynamic scoring). Days after that handshake agreement, Obama came back and said he couldn't do less than a $1.2T tax increase.
Find me here instead!
NY Times will be doing a spread on this (How Obama did not reallywant a deal to go thru so he could paint the R's as responaible for the failure for the 2012 election) It will be in their magazine secdtion. THere is also a book coming out about the debt deal (not so favorable to Obama as well).