Woodward's new book on debt deal collapse puts the onus on Obama

[UConn James]

Woodward Book: Debt Deal Collapse Led to 'Pure Fury' From President Obama

 

In accordance with what was written in the NYT story some months after the breakdown --- that a deal was essentially in place and Boehner had the begrudging votes of the freshman Tea Partiers to a mix of new taxes to go along with spending cuts / entitlement reform --- Bob Woodward's latest book is painting the picture of a White House and president who 1) Didn't know what the hell they were doing and 2) When the administration's original objectives were reached and Boehner had the votes, Obama moved the goalposts and wanted more --- 150% more --- taxes.

 

This just further underpins the notion that this WH is rudderless and completely engaged in ideological, divisive power plays rather than having any sense or willingness to address the debt ($16T now) and what is coming down the pike in the form of the entitlement tsunami.

 

But at a critical juncture, with an agreement tantalizingly close, Obama pressed Boehner for additional taxes as part of a final deal -- a miscalculation, in retrospect, given how far the House speaker felt he'd already gone.

...

Accounts of the final proposal that led to the deal's collapse continue to differ sharply. The president says he was merely raising the possibility of putting more revenue into the package, while Boehner maintains that the president needed $400 billion more, despite an earlier agreement of no more than $800 billion in total revenue, derived through tax reform.

 

...Woodward issues a harsh judgment on White House and congressional leaders for failing to act boldly at a moment of crisis. Particular blame falls on the president.

 

Would've loved to be a fly on the wall when the Democrat congressional staffer rebuked Obama to his face in the Oval about the WH not having a Plan B to avoid default.

Edited September 6, 2012 by UConn James

[BiggieScooby]

Remember House Majority Leader Boehner got 98% of what he wanted.

[UConn James]

Remember House Majority Leader Boehner got 98% of what he wanted.

 

There's now confirmation that Obama got 100% of what he wanted. And then he wanted more.

 

Bait-and-switch isn't a very good negotiating tactic. In fact, it's virtually guaranteed to fail. Which is what Obama wanted so he could have a re-election narrative of a 'do-nothing Congress.'

 

The reported $800B in new taxes wasn't enough to ask from Tea Party freshmen who had been elected on this core of cutting spending and reducing taxes?? For this president to come out and try to demonize congress / Republicans / Tea Party, saying they wouldn't budge or weren't willing to compromise to get a deal and avoid default is beyond the pale. Just further cements that Obama and the WH wear the blame for the credit downgrade.

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

That's what happens when you have a party that cried for Obama to fail from Day 1.

 

Mitch McConnell said, "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president," according to The Atlanta Journal Constitution.

 

 

Fox News' Bret Baier asked McConnell Sunday if that was still his major objective.

 

"Well, that is true," McConnell replied. "That's my single most important political goal, along with every active Republican in the country."

 

 

 

Here the proof

 

http://videocafe.cro...-election-still-

Edited September 6, 2012 by BillsFan-4-Ever

[Rob's House]

That's what happens when you have a party that cried for Obama to fail from Day 1.

 

Mitch McConnell said, "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president," according to The Atlanta Journal Constitution.

 

 

Fox News' Bret Baier asked McConnell Sunday if that was still his major objective.

 

"Well, that is true," McConnell replied. "That's my single most important political goal, along with every active Republican in the country."

 

 

 

Here the proof

 

http://videocafe.cro...-election-still-

He cites the reports of liberal Bob Woodward giving a detailed account of how this played out & you counter with clips of Republicans saying they don't want a Democrat President getting reelected. Brilliant.

 

You know you can still be a lefty and have credibility. But clearly you're little more than a Democrat jizz mop.

[UConn James]

He cites the reports of liberal Bob Woodward giving a detailed account of how this played out & you counter with clips of Republicans saying they don't want a Democrat President getting reelected. Brilliant.

 

You know you can still be a lefty and have credibility. But clearly you're little more than a Democrat jizz mop.

 

PPP101 --- When ya don't like the implications of a discussion, start a tangent and maybe the whole conversation just drifts away and no one will see the dookie that Obama left on the floor....

[Rob's House]

 

 

PPP101 --- When ya don't like the implications of a discussion, start a tangent and maybe the whole conversation just drifts away and no one will see the dookie that Obama left on the floor....

I think Obama could walk up to the head of an allied state, pull out his dick, deliberately piss on the man's head, and Retard 4 Ever would come here saying "oh yeah, what about when Bush threw up on that guy? Slam! In your face!"

[John Adams]

As that was happening, I remember a swell of pride building that this was going to get done. I still can't believe how close they got...and instead of working it out, just walked away. Bad for all of us. If Obama had gotten that deal done, he'd be even more secure right now in this reelection bid. His own party would have grumbled but they'd still support him.

Edited September 6, 2012 by John Adams

[WorldTraveller]

It's not that Obama is just completely out of his depth when it comes to economic policies, it's that he had no interest or desire to forge relationships with those from the other side of the aisle. Reagan and Clinton were masters at this, and as a result, they got things done. Obama on the other hand is seen from almost all accounts as egotistical, self-indulging and overtly partisan, and as a result, we have this ****ty economy and nothing gets done.

 

Which is the main reason why he doesn't deserve reelection.

[GG]

 

Which is the main reason why he doesn't deserve reelection.

 

I think a bigger indictment is when Pelosi and Waxman put him on mute.

 

 

[Gary M]

It's not that Obama is just completely out of his depth when it comes to economic policies, it's that he had no interest or desire to forge relationships with those from the other side of the aisle. Reagan and Clinton were masters at this, and as a result, they got things done. Obama on the other hand is seen from almost all accounts as egotistical, self-indulging and overtly partisan, and as a result, we have this ****ty economy and nothing gets done.

 

Which is the main reason why he doesn't deserve reelection.

 

Which makes this even more confusing, if he had agreed to what he had agreed to, his administration would have been a success and his second term would have been a lock. Hell I might have voted for him this time.

 

But to walk away after demanding more is just dumbfounding.

 

I know some might think I need a tinfoil hat, but this guy does not want to fix our financial problems.

[WorldTraveller]

Which makes this even more confusing, if he had agreed to what he had agreed to, his administration would have been a success and his second term would have been a lock. Hell I might have voted for him this time.

 

But to walk away after demanding more is just dumbfounding.

 

I know some might think I need a tinfoil hat, but this guy does not want to fix our financial problems.

 

It's not that he doesn't want to "fix" things, it's that he is beholden to his extreme leftist base, afterall, he is one of them.

 

Also, I want to push back on this notion that he is some sort of center left Liberal, that's just hilarious, the only reason why he made some decision that appear to be center left is because reality forced him to move more towards the middle on some policy initiatives, not because he wanted to.

[IDBillzFan]

The one thing the book does (as did the WaPo article which was a lot of the same story, but with fewer details) is put to rest the ridiculous liberal meme that the downgrade of the US economy by Moody's was caused by the Tea Party.

[John Adams]

Obama on the other hand is seen from almost all accounts as egotistical, self-indulging and overtly partisan, and as a result, we have this ****ty economy

 

Did you get the Cherry or Grape when you drank Mitt's Kool Aid?

 

That's some cause and effect oversimplificaiton there.

[WorldTraveller]

Did you get the Cherry or Grape when you drank Mitt's Kool Aid?

 

That's some cause and effect oversimplificaiton there.

 

your butt still hurting from yesterday?

 

Get over it bro, time to move on

[Doc]

That's what happens when you have a party that cried for Obama to fail from Day 1.

 

Mitch McConnell said, "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president," according to The Atlanta Journal Constitution.

 

 

Fox News' Bret Baier asked McConnell Sunday if that was still his major objective.

 

"Well, that is true," McConnell replied. "That's my single most important political goal, along with every active Republican in the country."

 

 

 

Here the proof

 

http://videocafe.cro...-election-still-

McConnell was clairvoyant. Barry's been a disaster.

[WorldTraveller]

This is for the over reactionary twit

 

The New York Times’ Jodi Kantor writes that Obama has “turned out to be a voraciously competitive perfectionist” whose “quest for excellence can bleed into cockiness,” and adds that “he tends to overestimate his capabilities.”

 

http://www.nytimes.c...?pagewanted=all

 

 

“Just a few months before the election, Obama is suffering from an engagement gap,” The Huffington Post’s Ryan Grim and Sam Stein write. “Obama is no longer regarded by the majority of voters as a constructive reformer.”

http://www.huffingto..._n_1847947.html

 

 

And POLITICO landed with an against-the-grain portrait of Obama as a conventional president — “relentlessly familiar” in his governing style, politically

Read more: http://www.politico....l#ixzz25hdcqzHr

 

 

With the president taking charge, though, Obama found that he had little history with members of Congress to draw on. His administration's early decision to forego bipartisanship for the sake of speed around the stimulus bill was encapsulated by his then-chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel: "We have the votes. F--- 'em," he's quoted in the book as saying.

 

 

Obama phoned in to deliver a "high-minded message," he writes. Obama went on so long that Pelosi "reached over and pressed the mute button on her phone," so they could continue to work without the president hearing that they weren't paying attention.

As debt negotiations progressed, Democrats complained of being out of the loop, not knowing where the White House stood on major points. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, is described as having a "growing feeling of incredulity" as negotiations meandered.

"The administration didn't seem to have a strategy. It was unbelievable. There didn't seem to be any core principles," Woodward writes in describing Van Hollen's thinking.

Larry Summers, a top economic adviser to Obama who also served as Treasury Secretary under President Clinton, identified a key distinction that he said impacted budget and spending talks.

"Obama doesn't really have the joy of the game. Clinton basically loved negotiating with a bunch of pols, about anything," Summers said. "Whereas, Obama, he really didn't like these guys."

 

Woodward portrays a president who remained a supreme believer in his own powers of persuasion, even as he faltered in efforts to coax congressional leaders in both parties toward compromise. Boehner told Woodward that at one point, when Boehner voiced concern about passing the deal they were working out, the president reached out and touched his forearm.

 

"John, I've got great confidence in my ability to sway the American people," Boehner quotes the president as having told him.

 

 

http://abcnews.go.co...=4#.UEjJAKD329s

 

 

So I guess, NY Times Jody Kantor, HuffPo's Sam Stein, WAPO's Bob Woodward and Politico's Glenn Thrush are all Mitt "Kool-aid" drinkers.

Edited September 6, 2012 by WorldTraveller

[DC Tom]

"The administration didn't seem to have a strategy. It was unbelievable. There didn't seem to be any core principles," Woodward writes in describing Van Hollen's thinking.

 

That's highly ironic, considering Van Hollen abandoned his core principles about four or six years ago.

 

"John, I've got great confidence in my ability to sway the American people," Boehner quotes the president as having told him.

 

That's just tragic.

[John Adams]

your butt still hurting from yesterday?

 

Get over it bro, time to move on

 

Try to respond using facts (yesterday). Or work on your logic (today). You're putting on quite a stupidity lesson lately.

 

So I guess, NY Times Jody Kantor, HuffPo's Sam Stein, WAPO's Bob Woodward and Politico's Glenn Thrush are all Mitt "Kool-aid" drinkers.

 

Read your statement again and maybe you can figure out why you look so foolish. Hint: You concluded something absurd based on Barry's personality. It's amazing that you think of yourself as a poll expert and have some insight into economics after posting the below drivel.

 

Obama on the other hand is seen from almost all accounts as egotistical, self-indulging and overtly partisan, and as a result, we have this ****ty economy

Edited September 6, 2012 by John Adams

[WorldTraveller]

Ok, try to keep up meathead.

 

 

 

Let me explain it to you like I do when talking to my three year old, maybe then you'll understand.

 

Ready?

 

 

You see hun, when two people get along, and they both work together, they sometimes can get things done. When they fight and call each other names and not talk to each other, sometimes things don't get done.

 

It's really really really important that they get along, or at least try. It's good for everyone when they talk to each other.