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In reply to the discussion: OBAMA ADVISER SAYS PRESIDENT WILL NOT EXTEND BUSH TAX CUTS, EVEN TEMPORARILY: ’100% COMMITTED’ [View all]JoePhilly
(27,787 posts)Obama promised to NOT raise taxes on those making under 250k. That's about 98% of all Americans.
If he let them all expire, he'd have broken that promise, and THAT promise is far more important to most Americans. If he did that, the media would be running clips of Bush #1 saying "Read my lips, no new taxes" ... and then clips of Obama promising to not raise middle class taxes, side-by-side, 24/7 from 2010, up until the election.
Obama would be a one term President for sure.
And the "mistake" you complain about was made by Dems in Congress. They could have passed a bill extended the tax cuts for those making under 250k ... they were too cowardly to do so ... and they got their butts kicked in the 2010 elections as a result.
Now that those cuts expire in the lame duck after the next election, Obama can let them all expire, whether he wins or loses the election. By extending them into the lame duck session, he ensured that they won't be an election issue.