I honestly didn’t think it was possible to dismantle a presidency so quickly. Especially one that was so popular, so charismatic, so full of undiluted awesome sauce.
I understand he hasn’t had any real experience running anything. Not a business, not a state, not a lemonade stand. But for gosh sakes… he’s got advisers, doesn’t he??? Isn’t there anyone who has his ear telling him, “Gee, O, considering your popularity is plummeting, maybe we should hold off on clubbing the voters like baby seals for a little bit, eh? We’ve been doing that for a while, and it’s not working real well….”
President Barack Obama’s treasury secretary said Sunday he cannot rule out higher taxes to help tame an exploding budget deficit, and his chief economic adviser would not dismiss raising them on middle-class Americans as part of a health care overhaul.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council Director Larry Summers both sidestepped questions on Obama’s intentions about taxes. Geithner said the White House was not ready to rule out a tax hike to lower the federal deficit; Summers said Obama’s proposed health care overhaul needs funding from somewhere.
“There is a lot that can happen over time,” Summers said, adding that the administration believes “it is never a good idea to absolutely rule things out, no matter what.”
Dude… seriously.
If you’re thinking now, “They didn’t come out and say there was going to be a tax hike on the middle class, so it’s probably okay,” you clearly need more of the tender, loving care only we here at the Gulch can provide you. If they’re going out of their way not to answer it, that means it’s very much on the table.
If you were to ask Geithner if it were a good idea to line up one out of every ten Americans and shoot them to fix the economy, he would shout in horror, “Absolutely not!” So trust me, if they want to rule something out, they can.
Not so much with that middle class tax hike, I see.
For those of us who have been paying attention since before the election, which unfortunately is less than 52% of the population, this comes as no real shocker. I didn’t drop off my chair when I read this. Most of us conservatives knew this was coming, even if you didn’t.
Explanation for the rest of you: Obama is a liberal. Liberals like to do two things. They spend and they tax. Obama knocked the first one out of the park pretty early on, and now he’s lining up for the second. Please enjoy.
But, although we’re not surprised by this being considered, one really has to wonder why there isn’t anyone in the administration who can see how badly this will turn out. This was a major campaign promise that will be broken by someone who is already seeing his public support drain away. Does he really want his approval numbers to be in the 30′s? Is that is plan?
Clearly this will be portrayed as a necessary evil, something needed to lower the skyrocketing debt we’re building. But that’s simply not going to play. Trust me. He can yammer all he wants that the debt is due to fixing Bush’s problems, and there was no way of telling how truly awful things were before he assumed office. But polls show that there are exactly two people in this country who think the Stimulus did a blasted thing, and everyone else can see it for what it was. A gigantic waste of money. So Obama’s coming back to the table to squeeze you for more cash, during a recession, to pay for this waste of money so the debt doesn’t crush us.
It’s like someone punching you in the face and then stealing your wallet to pay for your doctor bill. It makes him look either completely incompetent, or completely dishonest. No other way this will play out. No one is going to buy any lines about it being for the good of the country.
Three years is FOREVER in politics, so there’s no way Team O can be counted out in 2012 already, but he’s doing a darn good job of taking himself out of contention.
Thanks, O.
