Obama's weak tax cut hand is showing

[Joanne98]

He pledged a "fresh start" after his summit with GOP leader. But on the Bush tax cuts, the song remains the same.


President Obama emerged from Tuesday's morning "summit meeting" with the Congressional leadership of both parties and made a valiant effort to put some lipstick on a lame-duck legislative pig. He said he was happy with a "productive meeting." He called the "first chance to get together face to face since the election.... a good start as we move forward." He said that Americans "did not vote for gridlock, did not vote for unyielding partisanship" and claimed that this new effort to find common ground between Republicans and Democrats would "yield results."

He even went impressively meta, and noted that oftentimes politicians use meetings like this to make inspiring claims about bipartisanship and then immediately try to portray the other side as the villains who are unwilling to cooperate. But not this time! This time was for real!

Is there anyone left in the United States who is silly enough to take such words at face value? The results of the midterm election directly contradict the president. The party that bet all its chips on a policy of "unyielding partisanship" won big. What possible reason could there be for changing course now? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and soon-to-be Speaker of the House John Boehner have no incentive to compromise on anything -- and that most certainly includes the thorny issue of whether or not to extend all or merely a portion of the Bush tax cuts, a topic on which, the president conceded, the two parties are still divided by "philosophical differences."

http://www.salon.com/technology/how_the_world_works/2010/11/30/obama_tax_cut_summits/index.html

[rfranklin]

1. I will pay more tax gladly if...

the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire.

[DJ13]

2. "did not vote for unyielding partisanship"

Grow a pair Obama!

[KoKo]

3. I saw his announcement live..and he did seem to say compromises would have to be made

and that the parties differed on whether to extend all the tax cuts or only allow the ones he and Dems favor for those making less than $250,000. He talked a lot about "compromise."

I'd hope that they would raise the $250,000 ceiling to maybe $500,000 and that might work as a compromise. But, he's put Geithner and Liu in charge of negotiations ...so I don't have much hope that it will be anything but extended the tax cuts for all for another two years.

He looked very tired. I'm sure his injury had something to do with that but his hair is even grayer than a month ago.

[mazzarro]

5. IOW - He Looked Beaten - eh?

I harbor not much of a hope in this administration and the dems in congress to stand firm on the tax issue. I will expect the rethugs to prevail because they seem to be singing from the page while the dems are all over the place despite having polling majority on their side on this issue.

[KoKo]

7. Let's put it this way....he didn't look good or forceful...but then he's in pain

Although, there are many of us here on the Democratic Side who have been in PAIN for awhile now...so/

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

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[Doctor_J]

6. Weak or complicit?

Did he want to hold the line and was too wimpy to do it? Or was it his plan all along to suck up to the billionaires?

[KoKo]

8. What I'm thinking about Obama lately is that someone sold him a "fake mortgage on being President"

and this IS NOT what HE or MICHELLE EVER THOUGHT their LIVES WOULD BE!

I think he got caught BlIND SIDED BY DEM ESTABLISHMENT! He was pushed into this without any guidance about what he'd be hit with. He is young...with little experience (regardless of how his Media Team Pumped him up) and so he was put in there thinking he could fulfill the rhetoric he spouted during his campaign...but he was told the Clintons and Center for American Progress and the DLC would be the "SAFETY NET UNDER HIM" if he got in trouble.

HE MIGHT HAVE BELIEVED THAT! BUT...HE WAS SUCKERED...

I think he might be realizing that. And, what if Bill Clinton REALIZED IT...and the AWFULNESS LED HIM TO be Entied by Monica's "Flipping her Thong" in his face? And what if Hillar had a Freak Out about the killing of one of her best mentors and friends when he was FOUND DEAD/SUICIDE ...in that Park in DC and that she dabbled a bit in stocks (probably set up by WALL ST. WHORES) and she got hit with that!

I'm no fan of Clinton but he was ELECTED WITH AS MUCH HOPES AND DREAMS as OBAMA WAS! Many here on DU don't remember the hopes we Dem VOTERS HAD FOR CLINTON...and BEFORE HIM JIMMY CARTER who DID THE LAST TRAIN RIDE CAMPAIGN! The "Whistle Stop Tour!"

We DEM VOTERS..have much that we can be ANGRY ABOUT! I won't even deal with the STOLEN 2000 ELECTION...because the other Elections were really important for HISTORY of what has happened to the Dem Party.

GOOGLE the INAUGURATIONS of Clinton and Carter...and look at the EUPHORIA! Every TIME we Dems thought we were voting for OUR VALUES for the "Working Person" ...the Disenfranchised (during Clinton it was Japan that was beating us) but before that was Carter who ran against "CORRUPTION!"

Where are we today as Democrats? And, where are the Repugs today? Which Party has had the most SUCCESS for the COMMON PERSON...WHAT USED TO BE WORKERS/MIDDLE CLASS/FDR REPUGS/DEMS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS FOR ALL AND FOR EQUALITY FOR CITIZENS RIGHTS?

WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT DEMOCRACTIC PARTY?

[KoKo]

9. Delete......I've ranted enough......

[yurbud]

11. when you put it like that the question answers itself

[wackywaggin]

10. Call the bluff!

I'm in the lower middle class making abround 50,000.00 per year between my wife and my employment. So, go ahead, end the tax break.It makes little difference to me and if it will help other folks by me giving a little more, so be it.

Heretic Wack :0)

[yurbud]

12. ''party that bet all its chips on a policy of 'unyielding partisanship' won big''

By contrast, Obama gave away the store in unilateral bipartisanship, then browbeat his base for not being more excited about his tepid accomplishments and even flat surrender to the GOP on key issues like K-12 education, and then he pretends he was surprised by the shellacking he got.