Obama says short-term deal OK

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is ready to talk even on Republicans' terms, he insisted Tuesday, so long as Congress acts first to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling -- even for a short period.

At a news conference, Obama indicated Republicans could essentially set the agenda for budget negotiations, but only if Congress agrees first to a short-term spending plan to fund the government and to raise the federal borrowing limit to avoid a possible first-ever U.S. default next week.

"I will talk about anything," the president said.

House Speaker John Boehner, speaking Tuesday afternoon after what he called a "pleasant" but ineffectual phone call with Obama, promptly rejected the president's comments as nothing new.

"What the president said today was if there's unconditional surrender by Republicans, he'll sit down and talk to us," Boehner said. "That's not the way our government works."

At the same time, Boehner said he's "hopeful" top Republicans and Democrats could soon begin a "conversation."

"There's going to be a negotiation here," the Ohio Republican said. "We can't raise the debt ceiling without doing something about what's driving it to borrow more money and live beyond our means."

Yet while Boehner didn't indicate any points of agreement, a senior House Republican told CNN's Dana Bash that GOP members may be willing to go for a short-term debt ceiling hike -- lasting four to six weeks -- as long as the president agrees negotiations will occur during that time.

For more on this CNN story, click here.