What the hell kind of report is this by Sam Stein at HuffPo

[ProSense]

Howard Fineman and Sam Stein: White House Gives In On Bush Tax Cuts

<...>

"We have to deal with the world as we find it," Axelrod said during an unusually candid and reflective 90-minute interview in his office, steps away from the Oval Office. "The world of what it takes to get this done."

<...>

By giving ground on taxes and remaining silent on budget suggestions that others, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and AFL-CIO header Richard Trumka, quickly denounced, Axelrod showed the subdued caution of an adviser to a shellacked boss.

<...>

"We don't want that tax increase to go forward for the middle class," he said, which means the administration will have to accept them all for some as yet unspecified period of time. "But plainly, what we can't do is permanently extend these high income taxes."

<...>

That's how a shellacked president spends his plane time on a trip to Asia.

The piece reads like it was written by a friggin drunk. Also, what the hell does the new Congress have to do with the tax cuts?

[playstation]

1. Key graf

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's top adviser suggested to The Huffington Post late Wednesday that the administration was ready to accept an across-the-board continuation of steep Bush-era tax cuts, including those for the wealthiest taxpayers. ...

[ProSense]

2. .

"But plainly, what we can't do is permanently extend these high income taxes."

Contradiction.

[playstation]

3. none

They will take extensions with an expiration date, probably stretching past next election. The idea is to sell everyone that they are stopping a permanent extension.

[ProSense]

6. This piece is trash

You are speculating, which means nothing has been decided.

Again, what does the new Congress have to do with tax cuts that expire at the end of the year?

It's not like he has to negotiate with them because he needs their House votes.

Also, letting them expire might actually strenghten the President's hand on middle-class tax cuts.

[brentspeak]

5. After all is said and done: Obama is caving-in and will not let Bush high income tax rates expire

Contradiction

[Parker CA]

4. Looks like they're preparing to agree to some temporary extension for the top cuts. Permanent still

seems to be off the table if the WH has it's way, but they also wanted no extension for top earners, so I'm not sure where this leaves us.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

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[ProSense]

8. Reality is

middle class tax cuts and (fill in the blank).

Whatever reality is, it hasn't been defined here. Why Stein wrote that headline and another speculative piece is anyone's guess.

He seems to have gone out of his way to spin the quotes in a confusing way.

"We have to deal with the world as we find it"?

When Congress convenes next week, the world will still find a Democratic majority in both chambers of Congress.

[Politics_Guy25]

9. Delete

Delete

[Life Long Dem]

10. A compromise with Republican's

With the expectation of not receiving any compromise back from the Republican's.

In order to give the tax cuts or keep the tax cuts in place for the middle class, the WH is cautious of not letting the tax cuts expire because down the road they expect no compromise for any middle class tax cuts from the Repub's.

That's what I think this paragraph is saying. "That appears to be the only way, said David Axelrod, that middle-class taxpayers can keep their tax cuts, given the legislative and political realities facing Obama in the aftermath of last week's electoral defeat."

[ProSense]

11. Maybe,

but the reality of the negotiations before they expire will have nothing to do with House Republicans.

As far as the political realities after they expire, I'm not so sure Republicans have the upper hand.

[dgibby]

12. It's actually a very good article.

I would urge everyone to read the orginal article rather than rely on the edited version presented here.

[ProSense]

14. It's the title and the lede

"White House Gives In On Bush Tax Cuts

President Barack Obama's top adviser suggested to The Huffington Post late Wednesday that the administration was ready to accept an across-the-board continuation of steep Bush-era tax cuts, including those for the wealthiest taxpayers. ..."

[Raine1967]

13. The kind of story the WH is denying.

I just made this an op but I wanted to bump it in here as well, becuase it seems as tho you weren't the only one wondering what the hell got into Sam Stein.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/11/the_morning_plum_129.html

The White House is sharply denying the Huffington Post story I noted below claiming that David Axelrod signaled a willingness to accept a temporary extension of all the Bush tax cuts, claiming that their position remains unchanged.

Axelrod emails:

There is not one bit of news here. I simply re-stated what POTUS and Robert have been saying. Our two strong principles are that we need to extend the tax cuts for the middle class, but we can't afford a permanent extension of the tax cuts for the wealthy.

And White House comm director Dan Pfeiffer adds:

The story is overwritten. Nothing has changed from what the President said last week. We believe we need to extend the middle class tax cuts, we cannot afford to borrow 700 billion to pay for extending the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, and we are open to compromise and are looking forward to talking to the Congressional leadership next week to discuss how to move forward. Full Stop, period, end of sentence.

[LatteLibertine]

15. They will never be allowed to expire. Watch.

When the GOP fully take over again in 2012 they will be officially declared permanent.

[Phx_Dem]

16. The typical Huffington bullshit kind. n/t