The participants in Wednesday's White House meeting over the government shutdown weren't the only ones who had a grim outlook after it ended – so did CNN's on-air staff.
"It sounded to me like they had a 90-minute meeting that might have been one of the most frustrating meetings in history," said
"Out Front" host Erin Burnett.
"So the question, Erin, is which proverb is right," reporter John King chimed in. "It's always darkest before the dawn, or always darkest before it's totally black? – because it looks pretty bleak tonight."
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said very little to reporters after the meeting except that President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats refused to budge.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walked straight to his car without even addressing the press.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D.-Nev., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., looked no happier when they took to the microphones. They blamed the impasse on Republicans, who refuse to budge on defunding Obamacare as part of a continuing resolution to fund government.
Burnett asked reporter Jim Acosta whether Obama would be making a statement, "or is he just going to stay in his lair?"
Acosta said he'd been told there would be no statement and that negotiation attempts are likely entering a "dangerous phase" over next two weeks because both sides have drawn a line in the sand, saying they won't move.
Burnett interviewed Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who is one of the tea party conservatives blamed both by Democrats and moderate Republicans for causing
a partial government shutdown beginning Oct. 1, but Paul seemed intent on holding his position.
He said Democrats now want bigger budget numbers than he is happy with.
"I probably can't vote for a continuing resolution that's above the
sequester, because it's one of the better things in the last couple of years to control spending," Paul said.