Obama: It’s on Bush, House GOP

After meeting with President Bush, John McCain, and congressional leaders this afternoon, Barack Obama says it’s up to Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to work with House Republicans and bring them on board if sides are to agree on a bipartisan deal for a Wall Street bailout package.

“The challenge over the next 24 hours or so is for the president and Secretary Paulson to work with House Republicans,” Obama said in an interview on Fox News.

When asked how far Democrats and Republicans are from working out a bipartisan deal, Obama said progress has been made on key areas of focus, but that House Republicans are holding out.

“I think we’ve got a chance to go ahead and solve this problem,” Obama told Fox News when asked about today’s meeting.

“On all those fronts we’ve seen some progress,” Obama said, noting that “there seems to still be some resistance among House Republicans.”

House Minority John Boehner (R-Ohio), who attended this afternoon’s meeting, was adamant throughout the day that House Republicans have not agreed on anything. Lawmakers on key committees met this morning to negotiate a bipartisan agreement, and Boehner insisted that no final deal could come of that meeting because House Republicans were not on board.