Seated in an auditorium, the senators pressed Obama on their key concern as talks heated up over raising the nation's debt ceiling: How would he stand up to tea party Republicans? To the dismay of many in the audience, Obama conceded that he probably couldn't -- and probably wouldn't -- push too hard because he was unwilling to risk a U.S. government default.Burn down the factory! Scorch the earth! Victory or (someone else's) death!
Citing a faction of House conservatives dead-set on opposing any compromise, Obama said he was not "going to stand here and pretend to you that I can just look the other way" if hardball negotiations lead to an economic crisis, according to another person in the room.
Obama is a relative newcomer to the kind of tough negotiating with Republicans that will define the remainder of his term. It's not a role he faced as a legislator, and during his first two years in office, he scored victories in a Democratic-controlled Congress.
We won. You don't matter. Whatever Nancy wants.
In the past nine months, though, Obama has found himself engineering three major budget deals with Republicans.
For many, it was also an early and revealing glimpse of what they think was an overly cautious negotiating style that they would watch unfold -- at times with horror -- over the next several weeks. Some thought that Obama, who had already embraced some of the cuts Republicans demanded, had given up too much too soon.
"One side is enormously aggressive in pushing an agenda, and the other is saying, 'Let's all get along,'" said Sen. Bernard Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats and was one of the lawmakers questioning Obama in May. "So who do you think is going to win?"
The people? Don't be silly!
When was the first time progressives said 'Let's all get along'? I think I missed that. Anyone got a tape on YouTube or something?
White House officials believe the president's approach will pay off politically. They think the image of him as a reasonable compromiser fits with what most voters are looking for, especially the centrist independents who are turning their backs on the Democratic Party.
Who aren't turning their backs because of the debate, but if that's what Mr. Axelrod chooses to believe, fine.
But many Democrats fear that Obama is giving too much ground on the party's core values at a time when Republicans are unified in their quest to shrink the size and scope of government.
The people? Do they matter? The people who elected the Republicans? The people who put Pubs in state houses and legislatures? The people who have repudiated the Dim model? The voters? Does the WaPo recognize their existence?
For the country, how the president negotiates will go a long way toward setting the terms for what lawmakers in both parties consider the defining questions of their time: What will Medicare and Social Security look like? How big will the military be? How much will the wealthy pay in taxes? How will the country care for its poor, sick and vulnerable?
Families. Churches. The people.
Disappointed liberals
In the debt-ceiling talks, many liberal activists were angry that Obama didn't push Republicans to the limit
Yeah! You got away with Libya! Twist some more words! Do it!
Once you twist one part of the Constitution, the rest becomes easier...
Instead, the president often operated more as a mediator, accepting the need to cut spending, including entitlements, while limiting his priorities to avoid default and any more debt-ceiling votes until after his reelection campaign.Pragmatic. I like that. Except for the "until after his reelection campaign."
They use the word 'pragmatic' as a synonym for 'petulant', 'unengaged' and 'rude'...
"You look for what the other side needs. You look for what you need," said White House budget director Jacob J. Lew, describing Obama's negotiation philosophy. "And you look for a solution where both can have honorable outcomes. You can't vanquish each other."
Pah. That's not what Saul Alinsky said...
By that measure, Obama got what he wanted.
Oh, did we get a massive tax increase and stimulus II after all?
White House officials say the president's strategy in the recent debt deal, in negotiations during last year's lame-duck session and in this year's budget talks has been effective, yielding policy victories that many couldn't have foreseen after the tea party's 2010 rise.
The rise Jawn sKerry wants to muzzle? The voice of the people?