So the Party Line is now "Obama compromised because he wanted BIGGER cuts"

Listening to Debbie Schultz on Hardball, she is so proud because Obama originally wanted a Bigger debt reduction scheme that went against what many Democrats wanted.

That Grand Bargain was shot down by the Tea Party.

So now the official line is that Democrats are more conservative than Republicans?

WTF?

MY head hurts.

Just sayin'...

Which is true.

This is one way of saying it, but probably not the best way.

First priority should be to kickstart the economy....Work out deficits once the nation is back on its feet.

I'm confused. Can you please give me a link? :)

Sorry...No links. BUt you'll be hearing this more from the mouthpieces in the days ahead, i'm sure.

Geez. Spin much? There was a lot more nuance in her position. If your point is that Dems are horrible about messaging, though, they are.

None of this matters to Joe Voter anyway. Since a default would have had seriously negative consequences for the economy, the Democrats did the right thing, and they didn't really even give up much. At all. Obama now needs to do whatever he can to increase job creation.

It was very clear wHat she said there. It's the same Obama himself has said on several occasions.

He needs to explain how the tax code encourages moving jobs to China, Mexico, etc. And back legislation to revise the code. That means Obama and Congress will need to go against the manufacturers associations and the Chamber of commerce. Maybe they can be convinced if jobs aren't brought back 'home' they will have no customers.

Sad butc true.

That's a great start. Now, I don't think he can get that through the Teaper-controlled House, but he can try. I'm also trying to think of what he can do by executive order.

the deal is bad, and this stuff makes it worse. The Democrats are selling people conservative ideas on the economy.

:-)

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Seriously though, his position throughout this process was that he wanted cuts. He put them on the table. He meant it.

It seems to me that positioning Obama to the right of Republicans on debt and deficit was not some piece of masterful reverse psychology but a real campaign strategy. Re-election is so important that the administration is willing to put the historic values of the Democratic party on the table to win re-election. But then what?

I'd rather win or lose on core values. When polled on individual issues like tax and trade most Americans are overwhelmingly liberal. We need to stand by our case and make it to the public instead of triangulating ourselves into oblivion. I'm tired of the next election cycle being more important than what we actually believe.

And I'm disappointed, anxious and scared. Why should I be upbeat? I'm afraid of getting old with no real savings, a crummy, economy, Medicare co-pays I can't afford and god only knows what.

Happy Days are not here again for many of us. :(

The social contract is being re-written behind closed doors.

Right now the only thing that makes me hopeful is the response of the people of Wisconsin. I'd really like to see the Wisconsin protests on a nationwide scale.

But who knows what can happen when they push us down too hard?

You aren't the only one whose head hurts.