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by now the headaches continue to mount for though obama white house senior
adviser david axelrod is now called denying a report that the administration
is going to cave on extending the bush taxes for the wealthy after tell mopping
oppose that he didn't want to trade away security for the middle class to make a
point being that he might compromise on tax cuts for the rich he now tells the
national journal called
we're willing to discuss how we move forward but we believe that it's
imperative
to extend the tax cuts for the middle class
and don't believe we can afford permanent extension of the tax cuts for
the wealthy now that sounds good but notice that he said we can't afford it
the quote
permanent extension
which means they are definitely open for business
alex ending the tax cuts
for the rich at least temporarily
so we appear to be exactly where we were before with the white house ready to
compromise
or buckle depending on your perspective
so for more perspective on this list for a michael scherer he is the white house
correspondent time magazine
in the current issue of time he writes about the white house grappling with a
new reality and also joining us john walsh she's the editor in chief at salon
i sold my gloves are with you is a compromise our buckle
it's a colorado needed caught about though if you want but it's just uh...
it's a it's a admitting the reality of the situation of obama done better if
that was done better in mid-term elections
they'll be coming back with a different senate abilities right now even the
democratic caucus in the senate is not holding together it is not really an
option ventured out of speak about obama's needing to fight
republicans and and and and draw a line and say on this he has to fight his own
party there's three or four members of our caucus are already bolted from him
on this issue right well i don't believe me apne million there might be he's one
of five members of his own party
which i'm not sure about the president
now joe what what what do you think about that i mean is this the new
political reality does obama have to go towards our problems because of the
elections
no i mean it's the old political reality because the reality is that he never did
have sixty votes so he's always been having to
kind of try to leave or cajole or you know grab some of the conservative
democrats it's always been taught
but you know the thing that's frustrating progressives today is that
there doesn't seem to be afaik you know obama admit it's edwina
oddness one mistake in in his obvious interview where he said you know looking
back at the stimulus i really wish maybe i should have held off on tax cuts and
made the republicans come to me and compromise use the tax cuts they're in
the stimulus bill which we're not stimulative they where they were taken
from the get go use them gilmore some republican votes how about that how
about compromising how about leaving with a fight and enforcing other people
to come to you or at least telling the american people dutch troops if they
give up on these tax cuts right now and say we will temporarily extend them
goodbye there permanently extended this next congress will not reimburse them it
is a massive cave in people are phiri is today and should be my computer might
seem to summers at preemptive surrendered
but maybe the better strategy even if you're going to go down that route this
actually have negotiations
and they say all right you win one of my good bill i all right i give you a
year's worth of tax cuts for the rich but when you see in the beginning while
mom and give it to you it seems like yours
you're conceding for two early at the leaks
well with the last thirty years playing to the center they see the midterm
election results as
really a swing of independence from two thousand agents to two thousand ten and
what they're trying to do is reposition the president going into next year as
with the person who is fighting for the middle class is fighting above partisan
labels about finding above party
fighting juju actually help the american people to going forward if you look at
david access code to having a *** he says that the real important thing is to
make sure that the middle classes have their taxes increase that is that uh...
the the the sort of meat cleaver that's a hanging over this debate effect
not able to come to some compromise by the new year everyone scrapper taxes
increased
and that's where it that's where the the pressure for compromise comes of course
but if he did fight he could then turn around and blame it on the republicans
like they're blaming it on him he always seems like there's some sort of like
disarmament why can he do seem out of the b_b_c_ immuno michael you know i
love you might well i worked together but not this is this is a where he came
into office he'll be size mandate from the beginning i was a progressive
mandate but a mandate to change the tone and to change washington
now we can debate maybe he was somewhat right about that that progressives alone
did not elect him however a lot of the independents he lost they were
independence in name only they were republicans who was scandalized by the
bush administration and predictably they went home you look at this electorate
this time around a twenty ten he lost a lot of people especially young people
who came out for him in two thousand eight if they want to play with the same
the same set of voters and they want to fight over those orders in the middle
and not expand the electorate and not and not play to their base and basically
be republican
that that's a recipe for disaster for the country and and for the democrats
i'm not sure they think they can really expand that base electric much beyond
two thousand there was a historic election about tons of u_s_ at the polls
they're hoping to retain them they can't lose that base but they see the next two
years so it was about for the note i think
republicans will see that as well which is the thing that will bring them to the
table right now you see it republicans on the hill playing to their base
talking tough
you know this fight may be lost for a year or two on tax cuts but that i do
think republican have to come negotiating table today as well might i
guess you one last question orienting hearts that beat this i feel that
washington office often and include in a while the white house makes a mistake of
thinking
the middle of the country's is where the middle of washington is the middle of
washington is definitely go towards republicans take a seat on the tax was
the center
halls when you look at the polls
lessening the one and just what and where people i can tell moto cut social
security because of the move the country era like hello again
enough of the tax cuts on the rich admitted that the only seventy percent
while the public option are a huge percentage want to get tough on the
banks but that's the center of the country it doesn't seem like a bomb is
going anywhere near that he's going to the set of washington
without the poles on the tax cuts for the rich are are split forty-six
depending on how you you ask the question
proposals for security and this is the deficit conversation a very different
nobody wants you to take anything away from them that they are fighting to take
money away from the other guy just don't take money away from it because social
security is so broadly based way you're going to get calls like that the reality
is with the deficit situation you have to stop spending as much or you have to
increase taxes so people don't lose things that the the first line of that
report that came out yesterday from a co-chairs the death of the commissioners
this is going to be painful and so there are going to be everybody's gonna have
to get for this to be done well
dot or even success there if you have to feel some pain and i i think that's
where obama site except for the rich of course because it is at least cut the
right now i'm going to slow down and so remain on a dozen bankers can work to
sell seventy fellowship works all seventy-two right now it turns out so
shockingly the rich are the ones i wind up well with the biggest part and i i
don't
kimberly that outfit
i might be sharing george great conversation thank you guys thank you
alright