tonight on "nightline," obama revealed. an explosive new book, an exclusive tape that takes us inside the oval office as the president faced off against republicans as an economic time bomb ticked. so what made the man so famously cool spew coals of rage? diane sawyer with an abc news exclusive. cheer, in the high-pressure world of competitive cheerleading, this tough as nails coach is making like "glee's" sue sylvester to turn them into champions but at what price? and for anyone who's ever looked at their pooch and seen a

glimpse of nobility introducing animal ancestors. how one artist made a booming business in pet portraits. good evening. i'm bill weir. tonight, you'll get a glimpse behind the closed doors of power and into the dysfunctional relationships that can make or break this nation. bob woodward is best known for uncovering watergate but his new book takes us into the obama white house where last year's clash with republican leadership brought america to the brink of financial armageddon. tonight you'll hear tapes from the president and speaker of the house and what happened in the heat of those crucial moments could provide large-lor ammunition. diane sawyer has the exclusive first look. >> reporter: it is the kind of

moment that tests a president, the nation on the edge of a financial cliff. >> really say in the book nobody was in charge? >> in washington. >> and is that a failure of leadership? >> some people are going to say he was fighting a brick wall. others will say, it's the president's job to figure out how to tear down that brick wall. >> reporter: for 44 days last summer barack obama was hostage to events outside his control. the republican congress newly dominated by the tea party threatened for the first time in history to have america default on its debt. journalist bob woodward takes an inside look at the debt ceiling crisis. his book "the price of politics," you talk about it as financial equivalent of the cuban missile crisis. >> it's so serious they couldn't tell the world how bad it was at the time. >> reporter: the president and speaker of the house john boehner, the chain-smoking son of an ohio barkeep who is skilled in the art of backroom

negotiation, still boehner has to deal with his new tea party caucus. some of whom seem to want to see the u.s. default. >> at one point of the meeting i look at myself, i look at the president and i just started chuckling to myself. >> reporter: here you're listening to speaker boehner when he talks to woodward about one of his early meetings with the president. >> because all you need to know about the ifrps dids between the president and myself is that i'm sitting here smoking a cigarette drinking merlot and i look across the table and here's the president the united states drinking iced tea and chomping on nicorette. >> did you offer him a cigarette? >> oh, i did not. i did not. nor did he ask for one. >> reporter: president obama spoke to woodward in the oval office. >> by that time i quit smoking, but, you know, i was making sure he had an ashtray, you know, you know he'd be having a sip of wine and we could have a good conversation and i permanently think he genuinely wanted to get

something done, so i'm feeling fairly optimistic. >> reporter: woodward calls it the merlot and nicorette meetings and initially the two sides inched toward each other and a place they'd never gone before entitlement cuts plus tax increases, but then a single phone call will sink it all. the president says he simply called with the possibility of getting even more taxes. even now the two men disagree on what they heard each other say. >> i want to be very emphatic here. at no point did i say, john, take it or leave it what i said to him was, you have to tell me how many votes do you plan to put on this thing? >> his position is he was not saying i have to have it, he was saying, i want you to consider it. >> no, no, no. no, no, no, hold on, no, no, no. no. i need 400 billion more revenue. i need. then i pushed back a couple of

times and he said, no, no, i need $400 billion. you need to think about this. >> reporter: boehner is livid and worried about the fraction rebels in the tea party. he refuses to return the president's 3 phone calls over 19 hours. this time boehner says the president erupts. >> he was spewing coals. oh, he was pissed. he was pissed. he called and wanted $400 billion. i knew that he wasn't going to get a damn dime more out of me. >> reporter: the stakes couldn't be higher, 11 days before default in front of the world. >> somebody said can we sell national parks and the treasury secretary says, it won't work. we won't get enough money. >> reporter: for his part, the president was now certain that some hard-core members of the tea party had decided to let the whole thing blow up rather than give him a deal. >> there were very prominent

republicans in the caucus who told me to my face that the view in the caucus was that getting a deal with me would ensure my re-election. >> reporter: but a lot of insiders tell woodward the president strengthened his opposition by being so aloof. do you really think still in this tensely polarized world that schmoozing and charming and calling and spending the night with your feet up changes the course of history? >> yes, ma'am. human relations matter. >> reporter: and indeed as the deadline inches closer it will be two old veterans of washington who salvage the situation. vice president biden and minority leader republican mitch mcconnell and with just hours to go, a deal is finally struck but

one that basically puts the country through it all again in january. but is that the president's fault? >> my conclusion is presidents clinton, president reagan and if you look at them, and criticize them for lots of things, they by and large work there well. >> reporter: and he did not? >> on this, president obama did not. >> reporter: but here in an election year there are going to be people who say you deliver some ammunition to his opposition. >> i am not delivering ammunition. i am trying to describe what happened. i also make the point that speaker boehner was responsible. >> governor romney has said the president was in over his head. is your bookmaking a case that that was true? >> no. he had partner -- dancer part r partner. he has the republicans in on this. i close the book with the thought that the result of all of this was the status quo, only

worse. >> bob woodward's price "the price of politics" is on sale tomorrow. thanks to diane and coming up next, the twists, the flip, the crushing emotional pressure inside the world of competitive cheerleading. ♪ progressive saved me money on my car insurance for doing the right thing behind the wheel. what a concept. excuse me, sir, do you know how fast you were going? exactly 25 miles per hour. that makes you a safe driver. keep driving safe. -are you serious? -absolutely. i couldn't help but notice, you applied your brakes smoothly and evenly. you know, progressive rewards safe drivers. think of this as a reward forward. thank you! nice -- you stopped at the stop sign. you qualify for a safe driver discount. wow! keep safe and keep saving. one try can relieve your nightly congestion without the blowing the stacking

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they've got spirit, yes, they do, they've got spirit and a scary high vertical leap, a hard-core demand for perfection and the very real threat of broken bones. yes, a smile and some pom-poms are no longer enough to call yourself an elite cheerleader in this country much to the delight of some parents and the dismay

of many others. to better understand the demands of going out for cheer squad these days abc's amy robach met one brutally tough coach. >> carry me out, kill me now. do you want me to write you a memo for that. don't smile at me, kid, because i'm so not laughing. i'm over it. >> reporter: tough talking coach patty ann has been coachicoachinmpetitive cheerleading for 30 years. >> you're thinking about the scorpion and you haven't even completed the hide. >> reporter: she uses these tactics to coach these girls to the top of their sport. >> all you have to do is double and double, bust her ass and she'll never let go of your toe again. >> reporter: for those watching at home they're watching and thinking, this woman is unnecessarily tough. >> i am an extremely aggressive coach. >> reporter: you'll yell at them? >> absolutely. >> reporter: tough love. >> very tough love.

at the end of the day, my kids know i love them. when i step on this mat i've got a job to do. their parents are paying for a service. >> yes. >> reporter: in patty ann's gym in kennel brook, new jersey, there are plenty of rules like no cell phones and no facebook when the girls travel even to communicate with their moms and dads. >> we are not allowed to talk to them. we are not allowed to have any contact with them what soever >> that's even when we're at the competition with them. >> even a prisoner gets a phone call. >> reporter: and these parents who pay over $1800 a year to have their girls coached, well, they are even kept in the dark literally when it comes to watching the girls practice. >> i wish we could peek a little bit. >> reporter: how do you feel about that? spending all this money and dedicating all this time and you don't know what's happening? >> i'm paying all this money and i want to occasionally see what i'm getting for that dwindling checkbook. >> three, four, five, six.

>> reporter: but behind that curtain patty uses a sharp tongue and take no prisoners attitude to whip her squad into a winning team. >> is this going to affect me? good, then get rid of that and let's go. don't spit blood on the mat. >> i know when it's serious and when it's not. when i see that it's just a split lip, go wash your mouth out. we got work to do. jackie, you're too tired to go out again? >> reporter: do you ever think to yourself when you go home at night i was a little too tough? >> absolutely, absolutely, there are days i go home and i say to myself i wish i would have handled that differently. >> reporter: the girls compete year round and practice three days a week until as late as 9:00 p.m. >> let's go. >> reporter: and while the falls from lifts like this one do hurt it's the harsh talk from patty ann that sometimes brings this emto tears. >> what's the pressure like? >> it's a lot of pressure especially competition season, patty ann has no patience.

she wants when she wants when she wants it. >> reporter: she made you cry. >> yeah, 24 seconds ago. >> reporter: sue sylvester may have perfected the tv version of a brash cheerleading coach on "glee." >> i have completely lost interest in ladies. i blame you. >> reporter: but coach patty ann is the real deal and now showcases her strict traditional coaching on the new reality show aptly called clear cheer on cmt. ♪ >> reporter: lost on the team are few and far between and competition to stay on the team is fierce. >> if you miss a trick, if somebody walks in that door the night before i get on a plane, i'm taking your spot. >> reporter: and her cheer team say they know what's behind that hard exterior. >> i think that if you're going to have a successful organization and you're going to be on top you have to get in their face and then be able to

control them, bring them back in and show them that you love them. >> reporter: how important are these girls to you? >> they're kids. i get that. my job is to make them into this spectacular, strong woman. >> what happens when you become one of patty ann's little -- what do you want to call them -- little soldiers, so to speak? they become organized. they know how to prioritize. they know how to set goals. >> they're on time for everything. >> reporter: the girls may be focused personally and athletically but at what cost? >> i'm getting that a lot of people may look at this and say, these girls are very young and this is way too much pressure. what do you say to that? >> don't judge me. don't judge these kids. who is anyone to say that what we're doing or how we're doing it is wrong. >> reporter: for "nightline" i'm

amy robach, kenilworth, new jersey. >> "cheer" airs friday on cmt. coming up next, does your cat look like henry viii. got a pit bull with a strong resemblance to marie antoinette? one artist will immortalize your pup forever if you can afford it. ce. like how a little oil from here can be such a big thing in an old friend's life. we discovered that by blending enhanced botanical oils into our food, we can help brighten an old dog's mind so he's up to his old tricks. it's just one way purina one is making the world a better place... one pet at a time. discover vibrant maturity and more at purinaone.com.

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so you say you're the type of person who serves kibble and crystal and has a walk-in closet full of leash accessory, well a snapshot of your pooch won't cut it. luckily there is an artist who recognizes the market for classic dog portraiture. displays of tail wagging love and t.j. winick met the woman behind the masterpieces. ♪ >> reporter: do you treat your pooch like a prince? does your dog walk around like he owns the joint? if so one of these oil paintings might just be at home in your hallway. >> plus they're surrogate kids that we dote on. >> reporter: his partner just commissioned one of carmella, his collie. >> whoa. >> reporter: here she is chasing a ball around the yard and here she is as the empress maria of russia complete with hot pink nails just a minor embellishment to the portrait of the real

princess done in 1857. >> carmella. >> reporter: is she a princess? >> oh, yes, 100% princess. it is a little extreme to have portraits done of them but on the other hand, i don't think it's more than we would do with any other family member. >> reporter: in fact, he has done it for another family member. here's bill's other dog, dash, as a member of the russian military. >> i don't just paint one old-fashioned painting and start picking animals in it. >> reporter: meet the artist valerie leonard. she's not much interested in painting the man of the house as man's best friend. >> it is slightly dog and it is supposed to be funny and people either love it or hate it. >> reporter: it's clear she sees dogs and cats as much more than just pets. >> a dog has one life, one spirit. it deserves as much value as any other creature. >> reporter: she's not alone. her company takes orders from all over the world. each one meticulously painted by

hand. >> i think she has just enough of a mona lisa smile. >> reporter: and these canine collectibles aren't cheap. an oil on canvas like this runs about $900. is it money well spent? >> absolutely. it's joy. it's sharing the life we have with our dogs. >> reporter: these portraits which resemble the work of the great pastors are trowelly a work of the 21st century. that's because valerie uses computer design to map them out, the head tilted at just the right angle, the paws placed just so. >> so many people say how do you get the dogs to wear these clothes? >> reporter: they think the animals are actually posing for you? yes and animal rights people get have you upset that i put these animals into these clothes. i have a great respect but that's a bit silly. >> reporter: for "nightline" i'm t.j. winick in connecticut. >> can't wait till future archaeologists dig those up. thank you, t.j. and t