Obama's being played like a fiddle.

[Honeycombe8]

What's most important to me about this "new deal" (pretty different from FDR's New Deal, huh?)...anyway, what's most important to me about it is that it shows the Republicans, once and for all, that Obama can be had.

He has been played like a fiddle by the Republicans.

They see now, unequivocably, that he can be had, and it will shape their dealings with him from here on out. They now know that he doesn't have the power to stand up to them, or the skill to maneuver around them. It is THEY who will do the grandstanding, from now on.

Secondarily, I've mentioned several times a BIG problem that would happen, if Obama extended the cuts temporarily. I'll say it again: To extend the cuts for two years takes this issue to the 2012 election. Which means tax cuts (a key Republican issue) will be front and center and one of the main issues in the 2012 election. That is NOT good for Democrats. If Obama says he won't extend the cuts for millionaires, who would believe him? The Republicans hold all the cards in that fight in 2012 on this issue, if this deal is done.

[FormerDittoHead]

1. Just because it looks like that it doesn't make it so...

But it sure does look like that.

[Honeycombe8]

2. If it walks like a duck.....

You know what they say.

If a person is perceived as weak and wimpy, doesn't that make him so? Perception is everything.

Besides, when Obama lays over so quickly, it's more than perception.

[jaxx]

6. The President is anything but weak and wimpy.

Perception is nothing when it comes from the group who, from the go, have done nothing but trash him. It's just one more day in the Democratic Presidents first term. As the pundits say, the naysayers are loud, even though there aren't very many of them.

[liberalmuse]

3. Well, WE, the middle and lower classes just got our tax breaks extended...

when we really needed them. It would be a really, REALLY bad time for most families to have a several hundred dollar increase in their taxes right now. Yeah, again we can thank Bush for throwing the masses a couple of scraps as a distraction while giving the rich the fucking banquet table. Americans held out their hands for the money not even thinking where it was going to come from or when we'd have to pay it back. Americans let Bush have his unjust wars and sat by watching while he drastically cut veteran's benefits in favor of giving the money to the wealthiest among us.

The unemployed got their benefits extended when the Republicans were yet again threatening to cut them off. The Republicans don't give a fuck about cold and starving Americans. We know President Obama does, and he was bargaining for us, believe it or not. The aftermath of Katrina is just a small taste of what they have in store for us. It looks like President Obama is doing what he needs to do, which is working with the Republicans who'd rather see us all eat shit than give us a dime from the public treasury, OUR public treasury, as that's reserved exclusively for the elite to slop up at will. You know what would be justice? If all the idiots who voted for Bush twice were the ones suffering, but they took us all down with them. So the next time I hear some fucking Bush supporter bad mouth our current President, I'm going to hold back punching them full in the face and remind them of that.

Yes, I'm really close to getting critical and disillusioned with President Obama, then I look at the evil fuckers this man has to deal with. He's getting it from all sides, and I truly think he's doing the best he can being one person and all - with the absolute fuckery he's been handed. And if you think we Democrats have a majority (you know, Democrats who vote like Democrats) in Congress, you haven't been paying attention. Unfortunately, if President Obama wants to get anything done, he's going to have to 1) Do everything by Executive Order, essentially following in the footsteps of dictator Bush or 2) follow The Constitution and work out a compromise that doesn't fuck the average American in the ass too painfully. Those are essentially his choices right now, folks.

[dionysus]

7. +1

[karynnj]

4. If Obama ha FDR's Congress, he would have had a better deal

[truthspeak]

5. Obama's poll numbers up since election...

He's playing them...you'll see...

[ladjf]

8. He is one of them. nt