Deal (Almost) Done to Keep Government Running

Late Friday night, President Obama announced a deal had been made with Republicans and Democrats to keep the government running.

“In the final hours before our government would have been forced to shut down, leaders in both parties reached an agreement that will allow our small businesses to get the loans they need, our families to get the mortgages they applied for, and hundreds of thousands of Americans to show up at work and take home their paychecks on time, including our brave men and women in uniform,” Obama said.

The President thanked Congressional leadership House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for their leadership, and said he hopes they will be able to work together again.

Obama admitted the spending cuts, which are the biggest in history, will be painful in cases, and he wouldn't have agreed to the cuts if the circumstances were different.

Over the weekend, President Obama greeted visitors at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., reminding them that it wouldn't be open if the government had been shut down.

Lawmakers will still have to vote to agree on this short-term budget, then the focus will move to the 2012 budget, and what to do with the debt ceiling, which will surely be another fiery Washington debate.