Obama targets GOP inaction on cliff
President Barack Obama used a rare appearance on a Sunday talk
show one day before the nation hits the fiscal cliff to pin the blame on
Republicans who “have had trouble saying yes.”
With the prospects of a bipartisan agreement uncertain, Obama used the high-profile setting of NBC’s “Meet the Press” to make his closing argument in the debate.
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In response House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said it was the president who “has never been able to get to ‘yes.’”
“Americans elected President Obama to lead, not cast blame,” Boehner said in a statement. “The president’s comments today are ironic, as a recurring theme of our negotiations was his unwillingness to agree to anything that would require him to stand up to his own party.”
Obama’s interview was an unusual foray into the world of Sunday shows — the last time he appeared on “Meet the Press” was at the height of the health care debate — and showed how keenly aware the White House is of the potential fallout if the nation goes over the cliff and the importance of keeping voters on its side.
The president even loosely quoted Abraham Lincoln, who once said that government rests on popular opinion. Obama made the point while talking about gun control, but it could just as easily apply to his strategy on the fiscal cliff.
“One of the things that you learn, having now been in this office for four years, is the old adage of Abraham Lincoln’s,” he said. “That with public opinion, there’s nothing you can’t do, and without public opinion, there’s very little you can get done in this town.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) predicted that Obama would will get a “political victory” on the fiscal cliff — if not immediately, then later.
“Hats off to the president,” Graham said on “Fox News Sunday.” “He stood his ground. He’s going to get tax rate increases.”
Graham also said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told him on Saturday night that an attempt to pause the sequester will not be part of any deal.
With the prospects of a bipartisan agreement uncertain, Obama used the high-profile setting of NBC’s “Meet the Press” to make his closing argument in the debate.
Continue Reading
On a day of drama and uncertainty in Washington, he
said he’s negotiated in good faith, moved more than halfway to reach a
grand bargain and angered Democrats with his concessions. But he said
Republicans still refuse to strike a deal with him and hike rates on the
richest taxpayers.
“They say that their biggest priority is making sure that we deal
with the deficit in a serious way, but the way they’re behaving is that
their only priority is making sure that tax breaks for the wealthiest
Americans are protected,” Obama said. “That seems to be their only
overriding, unifying theme.”In response House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said it was the president who “has never been able to get to ‘yes.’”
“Americans elected President Obama to lead, not cast blame,” Boehner said in a statement. “The president’s comments today are ironic, as a recurring theme of our negotiations was his unwillingness to agree to anything that would require him to stand up to his own party.”
Obama’s interview was an unusual foray into the world of Sunday shows — the last time he appeared on “Meet the Press” was at the height of the health care debate — and showed how keenly aware the White House is of the potential fallout if the nation goes over the cliff and the importance of keeping voters on its side.
The president even loosely quoted Abraham Lincoln, who once said that government rests on popular opinion. Obama made the point while talking about gun control, but it could just as easily apply to his strategy on the fiscal cliff.
“One of the things that you learn, having now been in this office for four years, is the old adage of Abraham Lincoln’s,” he said. “That with public opinion, there’s nothing you can’t do, and without public opinion, there’s very little you can get done in this town.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) predicted that Obama would will get a “political victory” on the fiscal cliff — if not immediately, then later.
“Hats off to the president,” Graham said on “Fox News Sunday.” “He stood his ground. He’s going to get tax rate increases.”
Graham also said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told him on Saturday night that an attempt to pause the sequester will not be part of any deal.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/obama-targets-gop-inaction-on-cliff-85585.html#ixzz2Gb6JHcSt
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