Obama Takes the Gloves Off

To the extent that he can, anyway.

On taxes:

There's been a lot of discussion about revenues and raising taxes in recent weeks, so I want to be clear about what we're proposing here. I spent the last two years cutting taxes for ordinary Americans, and I want to extend those middle-class tax cuts. The tax cuts I'm proposing we get rid of are tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires; tax breaks for oil companies and hedge fund managers and corporate jet owners.

It would be nice if we could keep every tax break there is, but we've got to make some tough choices here if we want to reduce our deficit. And if we choose to keep those tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, if we choose to keep a tax break for corporate jet owners, if we choose to keep tax breaks for oil and gas companies that are making hundreds of billions of dollars, then that means we've got to cut some kids off from getting a college scholarship. That means we've got to stop funding certain grants for medical research. That means that food safety may be compromised. That means that Medicare has to bear a greater part of the burden. Those are the choices we have to make.

So the bottom line is this: Any agreement to reduce our deficit is going to require tough decisions and balanced solutions. And before we ask our seniors to pay more for health care, before we cut our children's education, before we sacrifice our commitment to the research and innovation that will help create more jobs in the economy, I think it's only fair to ask an oil company or a corporate jet owner that has done so well to give up a tax break that no other business enjoys. I don't think that's real radical. I think the majority of Americans agree with that.

I really don't know why he diddled around with the Biden talks and all of the behind the scenes chicanery for so long. This is a winning message. It's a populist message. The polls pretty much scream just this - no one wants to cut Social Security Medicare, everyone wants to cut defense, everyone thinks the uber rich and corporations ought to pay more in taxes (if some of them pay any at all). No one gives a shit about Obama's post-partisan-change-the-tone-of-Washington dreck. It was good for a campaign, but really - no one cares once you're in office. People want tangible results that they care about, not a warm fuzzy because Obama is trying his best not to hurt the Republican's fee-fees. And it's an easy contrast to draw too. Republicans want no tax increases ever because they are wholly owned subsidiary of the plutocrats and corporate elite. They just act like higher taxes kill jobs for the low information types to have a rationale to believe in their blindly ignorant anti-tax dogma.

And he savages Congress too:

And I've got to say, I'm very amused when I start hearing comments about, well, the President needs to show more leadership on this. Let me tell you something. Right after we finished dealing with the government shutdown, averting a government shutdown, I called the leaders here together. I said we've got to get done -- get this done. I put Vice President Biden in charge of a process -- that, by the way, has made real progress -- but these guys have met, worked through all of these issues. I met with every single caucus for an hour to an hour and a half each -- Republican senators, Democratic senators; Republican House, Democratic House. I've met with the leaders multiple times. At a certain point, they need to do their job.

And so, this thing, which is just not on the level, where we have meetings and discussions, and we're working through process, and when they decide they're not happy with the fact that at some point you've got to make a choice, they just all step back and say, well, you know, the President needs to get this done -- they need to do their job.

Now is the time to go ahead and make the tough choices. That's why they're called leaders. And I've already shown that I'm willing to make some decisions that are very tough and will give my base of voters further reason to give me a hard time. But it's got to be done.

And so there's no point in procrastinating. There's no point in putting it off. We've got to get this done. And if by the end of this week, we have not seen substantial progress, then I think members of Congress need to understand we are going to start having to cancel things and stay here until we get it done.

They're in one week, they're out one week. And then they're saying, Obama has got to step in. You need to be here. I've been here. I've been doing Afghanistan and bin Laden and the Greek crisis. You stay here. Let's get it done.

Here, here. I have never seen a bigger bunch of piss pants whiners than the 111th/112th Congress, or more sternly worded letters written to the President asking him to hold their collective hands on this issue or that. You didn't consult us on Libya, we need more leadership in the government shutdown talks, we need you to step in on the debt ceiling. You are legislators. You were elected to do a job. Put on the big boy pants and legislate. This was long overdue.

And finally, just like any time a Democrat calls Republicans on their bull shit, the media clutches their pearls in shocked horror:

I'm not going to go into the implications of a Drudge's cabana boy Halperin calling the President a dick on national television. See Greg Sargent for a comprehensive take down of why this obfuscates the real problem with our tabloid media. I will just note that Republicans are allowed, or even expected, to strut around preening and saying all kinds of ridiculous and often objectively false statements about the President and the Democrats, and the second any one Democrat says something to the contrary (or FSM forbid, forceful), the GOP and their media stenographers lose their shit over the lack of "civility" in our discourse. 

Also too, Halperin was well aware of the fact that there was no tape delay, and spewed his childish, pedantic comment anyway. I am willing to bet that he is angling for a Juan Williams style departure to Fox News. MSNBC eventually fires him, or Halperin leaves citing irreconcilable differences, he picks up an enormous contract as a Fox host/contributor, and voila, it's a victory for the Fox News Channel and a triumph over the meanie liberal media that punishes and censors people that take a position against the President. Just watch.