'Frosty' and 'Frank' Meeting Between President Obama, House GOP

Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- As the dozens of members of the House Republican Conference left the White House where they'd spoken with President Obama about the deficit and job creation, Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., had a one-word review of the mood in the meeting. "Frosty is the word," Gingrey said.

Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Penn., had a different take -- though he brings some perspective from his previous profession. "I'm a psychologist," Murphy said. "Let me just say it was good for them to talk. Good group therapy."

Murphy said the idea that Democrats and Republicans are talking is good. "We don’t get anywhere by being on opposite sides of Pennsylvania Avenue. Any conversation that keeps going is good."

The meeting, in the East Room of the White House, lasted for one hour and 15 minutes.

"Obviously there are long term disagreements," said White House press secretary Jay Carney. "But there is common ground and more common ground to be found to significantly reduce our deficits."

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, described it as a "frank conversation" that he thought was "productive."

One House Republican told ABC News that he didn't find the meeting confrontational. "It was people making their points," he said. "A little honesty is not a bad thing."

At the meeting, according to attendees, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, noted that the House GOP has a budget plan, offered by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., that could be "scored" -- analyzed in detail -- by the Congressional Budget Office. The president does not, Cantor noted.

Pointing to lower-than-expected private sector job numbers in May, Cantor said more needs to be done to encourage job growth and motivate the private sector to create jobs, rather than increasing the size of government with money that we don’t have.

The president agreed that job growth needs to be a priority, saying that he is all for tax reform and happy to work together to achieve it. He noted that cutting taxes is smart to do politically, but the question is whether it is sustainable.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, asked when they can expect to see a White House budget plan in a form that can be scored by CBO. President Obama said he wanted a joint agreement that is score-able.

Healthcare is the driver of our debt right now, Ryan said.  He also described his plan for Medicare reform for the president, saying Democrats were mischaracterizing it. Our program is not a voucher plan, Ryan said, it is premium support -- which he then explained.

Ryan told the president that he is making a sincere attempt to address a problem, and he challenged the president: "Mr. President, the demagoguery only stops if the Leaders stop it."

His fellow House Republicans gave him a standing ovation.

President Obama told Ryan that he read the proposal and has never questioned its sincerity. 

The Ryan proposal obtains its savings not by reducing health costs but by replacing Medicare with a subsidy that doesn't keep up with health care costs as they increase, the president said.  That is a legitimate approach to solving the government's problem, but that does nothing for people who need health care as costs continue to rise.  

The public wants no changes in benefits but they don't want to pay for it, so we all have a challenge with our bases, the president said. The only way we solve it is if we sit in a room and come to some compromises.

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