Fox apparently wants to make sure that if the debt ceiling is not raised by August 2 and there is a disruption of Social Security benefits, President Obama gets the blame.

A headline on the Fox Nation today claimed “Obama Threatens to Withhold Social Security Checks from Seniors and Vets.”

However, the article to which Fox Nation links -- a Reuters piece on the deficit reduction talks between President Obama and leaders from both parties -- quotes Obama as saying that he “cannot guarantee that those checks go out on August 3rd if” the debt ceiling isn't raised, because "[t]here may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it." Obama's actual remarks make it clear that he was not threatening to withhold these checks, but simply explaining what might happen if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling by August 2.

There is, however, another serious problem with the Fox Nation post. The post ignores that Republicans have been unwilling to compromise on the debt talks, choosing instead to lay the sole blame for the crisis that would ensue on Obama. There is no mention, for instance, of the fact that while Obama has said he is “prepared to take on significant heat from my party to get something done,” House Speaker John Boehner has said that any deal must curb future spending and include “no tax hikes.”

Nor does the article mention that Republican leaders -- including Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and Senator Jon Kyl -- have walked out of talks because they were unwilling to consider tax increases as part of a deal.

Actually, the right-wing media appears to be itching to blame Obama if no deal is reached. On his radio show, Rush Limbaugh claimed that “if there is a collapse or a default, it's something that” Obama “wants and has planned.”

Other conservative media have urged Republicans to abandon the debt negotiations. For instance, in a post on Andrew Breitbart's Big Government website, contributor Michael Angley wrote: “Strength is on the GOP's side. Don't cave.” Likewise, National Review warned Republicans not to get “snookered” and to walk away from a deal if it's not on their terms, and, according to Newsweek, Sarah Palin “made it clear that she's against any deal that raises the debt ceiling.” And then there are the media figures who are actually cheerleading for a default.

Perhaps Fox should look elsewhere in casting blame for the threat to Social Security.