Why Did Obama Compromise on Tax Cuts?
Complete video at: fora.tv Richard Wolffe, former White House correspondent for Newsweek, examines December’s agreement to extend the Bush tax cuts for an additional two years in light of the economy, Washington’s current political climate, and Obama’s personal approach to compromise. “The tax debate has not worked out very well for the Democrats for the last two, three decades,” says Wolffe. “You’re fighting on Republican turf.” —– Richard Wolffe, award-winning journalist, NBC and MSNBC political analyst, and author of the New York Times best-selling political epic, Renegade: The Making of a President, tells the dramatic inside story of the defining period of the Obama White House, based on exclusive interviews with President Obama and his White House staff. As Newsweek’s former senior White House correspondent, Wolffe covered the entire length of Obama’s presidential campaign and has had unprecedented access to Obama — allowing us to see and hear President Obama with an immediacy and honesty never before witnessed. Listen to Wolffe as he answers the simple yet enduring question: Who is Barack Obama? – The Commonwealth Club of California Richard Wolffe is a Daily Beast columnist and an award-winning journalist. He covered the entire length of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign for Newsweek magazine. His book about the election, Renegade: The Making of a President, was a New York Times bestseller in 2009. His new book, Revival: The Struggle for Survival Inside the …
@sidecar771 Sorry, you’re right. Both parties have a history of excessive spending. It needs to end. I don’t care who ends it, as long as it ends.
@Candyliz2003 Sorry, you’re right. Both parties have a history of excessive spending. It needs to end. I don’t care who ends it, as long as it ends.
@feenix566 This is a silly recitation of falsehoods. Republicans put two wars and a prescription drug plan on the debt for years. The tax policy of the US government is doing great harm to to this country fiscally, but it has also warped the nations economic development. Exporting jobs to lower cost jurisdictions is actually being subsidized by the very workers being replaced. The US federal spend, in spite of an enormous defense budget, is small compared to other developed countries.
@Hopeful71 he obviously was joking…
@Hopeful71 Oh man, oh man, oh man I can see John Boehner crying all over mainstream news now!
The day Sarah Palin is enforced for the 2012 Presidency and Obama wins.
@feenix566 Why on earth do you blame spending on the Dems? The deficit has almost always ballooned under a Repub. administration (Reagan and Bush 2 as most recent and most ridiculous).
I’m a Republican and I wanted the same thing: to let the tax cuts expire and see what happens. The Democrats are the ones who did all the spending. If they’re going to spend the money, they should have to pay the piper and raise the taxes along with it. Right now, everyone in Washington is living in a fantasy land where they can just spend, spend, spend all day long and never have to pay for it. That fantasy world will collapse around them sooner or later. It’s only a question of when.
It was a win-win for Obama to compromise on Tax cuts: If the economy tanks, then he can blame Republicans. On the other hand, if the economy picks up, then he can claim it was all his doing since he was in office. Basically its political insurance for the coming election.
Govt loves to spend our tax money on food stamps. Wic, medicaid. Watch my video “Govt Nutritionist exposes d truth”. It will b eye opening.Watch m
I don’t think even the republicans will be dumb enuough to nominate Palin
I tend to think the sloganeering of “hope” and “change” allowed Obama’s supporters to project what they wanted into those words, but the reality required the president to make different trade offs completely outside the Left’s ideal, especially once he no longer had as many Democrats to work with. It pays to remember the smartest politicians are pragmatists at heart, Obama included.
I used to support Obama now I dont. He did nothing for fighting the Tax Cuts, Guantanamo, HealthCare (which is now more expensive than ever). So how is his plan working out really. People who actually wanted what he promised got reamed on the big things. What is this big “change” that he brought?
Americans rightNow, go bankrupt over rising healthCare, food, fuel, housing, phone, utilities, insurance costs, – taxes+underEmployment..
Obama knows only time will expose Sarah’s TeaParty for what it is. GoOP Coporatism sponsored FxMediaPropoganda that has locked up all capital (investmentsOverSeas) to starve the middleClass into poverty so as to bankrupt urDemocracy..Republicans cannot exist without democracy, Democracy can exist wiithout the foolin GOP republican&robberBarons!
110116ce..
Martin Luther King wasn’t an Idealist he was a pragmatist. He was a realist that recognized power of his message would do the work all the struggle, pride, and violent resistance couldn’t. Idealism that hasn’t ever proven itself and usually the opposite isn’t that same model of power Ghandi and Martin luther king worked off of, and a real excercise in relatavism. And for what it is worth King was a Republican.
@moestietabarnak i knew what you meant. your disinformation point is as weak as your grammar, so my reply is appropriate.
no one believes the problems in greece, ireland, france, maybe spain and portugal have anything to do with the mortgage crisis continuing here in america since 2008. when all of your points rest on blaming someone else, it may be time to reevaluate what you know about the world.
@scarletlake77 You really need to have every thing pointed out ..sigh, when i say “your” I mean American..not YOU. damn egomaniac!
Most other countries trouble are due to YOUR (American, not your personally) negligence on preventing crook and con greed to mess-up the economy, The HUGE wall-street’s crash had domino effect all across the world, Hopefully that would be a wake-up call to the world to put up some firewall between you and them so that wouldn’t happen again
@moestietabarnak are you suggesting my youtube comment has an effect on national healthcare? i wish.
other countries are in big trouble because of government waste and spending on social programs. this is big in the news. check it out.
@scarletlake77 the heatlhcare bill is weak, due mostly by your disinformation. Educate yourself and learn how other country treat healthcare. And don’t quote me the constitution, if that pieces of paper can impede progress, it need revision. it is not the gospel! It was good for the era and bit progressive for its time, but can benefit a lot to modernizing. Other country learned that you cannot put a profit motive over people’s live.
Democrats wanted taxes to up for everyone? Wolfe is either lying or he’s an idiot. Democrats wanted the tax breaks to only extend to the lower and middle class. Obama simply caved to the republicans (and added the increase in exemption to the estate tax for no reason either).
To answer the question posed in the title you only need to consider two things.
1.) Who elects the politician?
A.) The Citizen
2.) Who pays for the slick election campaign?
A.) The masters
Feed the sheep “good grain” to get their vote and then shear the sheep and give the wool to your friends who gave you money so they can stay snug and warm in their beds.
Meanwhile the sheep are bleating…..we are cold, give us our wool back.
Thus endeth the lesson.
To answer the question posed in the title you only need to consider two things.
1.) Who elects the politician?
A.) The Citizen
2.) Who pays for the slick election campaign?
A.) The masters
Feed the sheep “good grain”toget their vote andthenshear the sheep andgive the wool to your friends who gave you money.
@masskilla469
Oh Archie!
@moestietabarnak educate yourself about what the healthcare bill does and get back to me. if liberals are for new entitlements, i don’t see how what i said is a slur. i also think this guy, which i have heard many times, gives really weak analysis. his point of view is mostly how does obama get reelected.
Sarah Palin reminds me of Edith Bunker!!
@scarletlake77 news for you, entitlement are for people who are ENTITLED too ! They paid for it,. as in S.S and medicare. you did buy out the smearing propaganda of making these two word (liberals and entitlement) a slur.