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provided by AlterNet WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 29: U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Congressional Leaders to discuss legislative priorities through the end of 2022, at the White House on November 29, 2022 in Washington, DC. Biden met with

In 2011, Barack Obama entered into negotiations with House Republicans. They wanted the president to cut future spending in exchange for voting to raise the debt ceiling to borrow more money to pay for existing debts.

Ultimately, Obama agreed to $2 trillion in cuts. The debt ceiling was raised, but the damage was done. The United States experienced its first credit rating downgrade and the stock market plunged, according to USA Today.

Joe Biden, as vice president, learned a lesson that day. He evidently shared it Wednesday with Kevin McCarthy after inviting the House speaker to the White House. He said: There will be no negotiations over the debt ceiling.

READ MORE: 'Where is it?': Kevin McCarthy mocked for lacking a cohesive plan to negotiate the debt ceiling

McCarthy has shown his hand. To Margaret Brennan, host of Face the Nation, he said, were not going to default. What has he to bargain with after giving away his leverage? I dont know. But the moment seems to illustrate a new pattern of behavior coming out of the White House.

There will be no benefit of the doubt.

A problem for the Republicans

According to reporters Alexander Nazaryan and Michael Isikoff, the White House is prepared to work with House investigations but theres a but.

READ MORE: Watch: Kevin McCarthy leads Republicans in prayer at hate group-sponsored event

When it comes to Congress, we intend to review and respond to oversight inquiries in good faith, White House communications officer Ian Sams said last month. We're going to call it out when we see rampant hypocrisy.

Sams said the Republicans have a total lack of credibility.

Hes not wrong.

Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan is head of the House Judiciary Committee. A ferocious Trump defender, he said hed turn to a compulsory process if the White House refused to be forthcoming with requested information.

This is the same congressman who balked when the J6 committee subpoenaed him for testimony on his role in Donald Trumps coup.

Sams went on.

He said Kentucky Congressman James Comer, head of the House Oversight Committee, is playing political theater. Sams said that when a Democrat is involved with government secrets, hes very concerned. When Trump was involved, he was la-di-da. Sams said, via Nazaryan and Michael Isikoff, that:

Comer had downplayed Trumps mishandling of sensitive documents after arguing in an interview with Newsmax last August that the matter 'didnt amount to a hill of beans' and would not 'be a priority' in terms of an investigation.

This is not Barack Obamas White House.

The average white American probably didnt give the first Black president the benefit of the doubt on account of his being the first Black president.

The average white American does give Joe Biden the benefit of the doubt on account of his being white as well as being widely regarded as moderate.

With ample benefit of the doubt behind him from the average white American, Biden seems to believe that he owes none to the Republicans.

Thats a problem.

For the Republicans.

Blunting their attacks

What is the benefit of the doubt? Why is it important?

First, Merriam-Websters definition: its the state of accepting something or someone as honest or deserving of trust even though there are doubts.

Second, its important because virtually everything the Republicans in the House hope to accomplish with their phony investigations, of the Biden administration and the Biden family, depends on the president trusting them just enough for the Republicans to turn that trust against him.

Obama gave the House Republicans the benefit of the doubt. They dragged out the process so long global investors panicked. Obama lost once by conceding to $2 trillion in cuts. He lost twice after markets plunged. In the end, Obama was complicit in the GOPs sabotage of his administration.

But because he was the first Black president, and because his party had just experienced a shellacking in the 2010 midterms, he had to play along.

Things are different now.

The president is white. The House Republicans are barely a majority. The benefit of the doubt of the average white American is not on their side.

Todays House Republicans plan all kinds of investigations of the 2020 election, Bidens return of classified documents and Hunter Bidens laptop.

But what they are actually doing is searching for reasonsreasons that would provide the appearance of proof of their allegations. They want to credibly accuse the president of something. But doing that requires Bidens help.

The appearance of proof.

Thats why Sams leaned into their total lack of credibility.

By refusing to give the Republicans the benefit of the doubt, the White House is depriving them of that appearance, blunting their attacks.

This isnt Barack Obamas White House

McCarthy tried hard to make it look like Biden is the one being hypocritical. He literally led the talks in 2011 and he praised having those talks, he told CBSs Margaret Brennan. This is what hes always done in the past.

The House Republicans dont know what they want, however, and the White House knows that the House Republicans dont know what they want.

The House Republicans keep asking for spending cuts, but wont say which domestic programs they want to cut. The reason for that is pretty clear. If they say what they want to cut spending on Social Security, for instance, which is broadly popular it will undermine demands for spending cuts.

The Biden administration believes it has the advantage. In a memo to McCarthy, the White House asked if McCarthy will commit to the bedrock principle that the United States will never default on its obligations and when the Speaker and the House Republicans will release their budget.

He wont and they wont, because he cant and they cant.

The Biden administration believes Americans will view the Republican brinkmanship more unfavorably as willing to jeopardize the economy and cut popular programs for ideological reasons, according to USA Today.

Biden is probably right.

After all, this isnt Barack Obamas White House.

READ MORE: Speaker Kevin McCarthy clashes with quarreling House Republicans over spending cuts: report

Forcing a 'debt limit fight' with Biden can only end badly for Republicans: former Bush/Rumsfeld speechwriter

On the debt ceiling, the Democrats are the party of no

'Blackmailers without a cause': Economist says House GOP just wants to 'watch things burn' in debt ceiling fight

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Not Barack Obama's White House: Why Republicans no longer get the ...