Reply #8: This is along the lines of what I've heard.

[dkf]

This time, President Obama is calling for a major tax reform that would greatly simplify the code, close many loopholes, and thus allow reducing the rate without increasing the deficit.

This proposal, on the face of it, has appeal to both sides. The GOP cannot reject out of hand a proposal that promises to lower tax rates. The Democrats, the progressives included, cannot reject out of hand a proposal that entails reducing deductions that serve only those better off (the poor do not pay income taxes, and most of those with modest incomes do not file itemized returns and hence do not benefit from most deductions). Indeed, the progressives can hope that the reform will lead to taxing income from investment at the same rate as that of labor. That is to say: rather than facing gridlock, this proposal has a fair chance to move forward, as both sides vie over how to shape it, rather than to block it.

Moreover, unlike the Dick Morris triangulation strategy, which entails doing a lot of minor things to give the impression of a productive, successful presidency, the tax reform proposal has the magnitude and imagination that could translate into a truly important reform, of both substantive and political appeal. The current tax code is so riddled with concessions to special interests, and is so complex, that it should be relatively easy to show to the electorate the merit of reforming the code and the scope and import of proceeding.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amitai-etzioni/a-new-test-for-progressiv_b_799664.html