Barack Obama, the US president, has drawn a sharp line between Republican and Democratic plans to cut the US deficit, but says a deal can be reached despite ideological differences that threaten to damage the country's economy.
Democrats and Republicans agree that $4 trillion needs to be slashed over roughly a decade, Obama told a town hall-style event in Virginia on Tuesday. But the two parties disagree on what to cut to get there.
"I don't want to lie to you; there is a big philosophical divide right now. I believe that you've got to do it in a balanced way," he told students at a community college outside of Washington, referring to deficit cutting.
The president was promoting his plan a day after credit agency Standard & Poor's threatened to strip the US of its prized triple-A credit rating.
The Wall Street agency cited concern that Washington's polarised politics would make it difficult to reach a debt deal before the 2012 presidential election.
