'Preposterous' to say Obama walked out of deficit talks, spokesman says

White House press secretary Jay Carney derided as "preposterous" accounts by House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., that President Obama stormed out of Wednesday's deficit-reduction negotiations.

"The president, as the meeting was wrapping up, expressed his feelings that the folks in that room need to lead," Carney said. Cantor told reporters that the session ended with the president warning the majority leader not to "call my bluff" before pushing back his chair and saying, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Talks were scheduled to resume Thursday afternoon, according to a Democrat familiar with the negotiations, and the president has set an informal deadline of Friday for participants to determine if a deal is possible. While Carney still insists the U.S. will not default, he said, "I do not expect today a hallelujah moment" to come out of the talks.