The President said, "We worked hard to negotiate this deal"

[kentuck]

Who does he mean "We"??

From what I have read, he never even informed Congress about it. Unlike the healthcare reform bill, he shut them totally out.

Who did he send to negotiate? Can you guess?

He totally dissed the Congress. Perhaps it shows his superior bent from being in the US Senate?

[Angry Dragon]

1. He was talking about himself and the republicans

Why would we need anyone else??

You really need to pay more attention

:hide: :fistbump:

[dflprincess]

2. He'll shut out anyone who won't see things his way

He may have included Congress in the "health care" debate - but he shut out single payer advocates.

[TwilightGardener]

3. Joe Biden was the negotiator. And I've never seen anything that suggested

that Harry and Nancy were completely in the dark about what was going on--just complaints from Mary Landrieu and some in the House Caucus that Obama didn't meet with them.

[polichick]

4. Even the health insurance bill was largely a deal cut by the WH...

...early on, though members of Congress didn't realize it at the time.

And when reconciliation was finally used, the bill was not strengthened as it could have been at that point.

[and-justice-for-all]

5. Should not have negotiated with the repukes at all...

but that's is what ya get for negotiating with terrorist.

[ProSense]

6. The deal was negotiated to pass the Senate

The President knows where House Democrats stand. The fact is that some Democrats in the Senate support the estate tax deal, which was sponsored by Lincoln and included in the Democratic packages that failed.

Here are the 15 Democrats who voted against Sanders' amendment to the package (they likely all support he estate tax provision). Roll Call:

Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennet (D-CO)
Casey (D-PA)
Hagan (D-NC)
Kohl (D-WI)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Manchin (D-WV)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Udall (D-CO)
Webb (D-VA)

[zipplewrath]

21. It was a conflict over strategy

Pelosi et. al. were "invited" to participate in negotiations with the GOP senate, but basically turned them down because they didn't want to proceed that way. They wanted to have the confrontation. Obama didn't want to have the confrontation so he proceeded without the House and just presented it to them as a fait a compli. More than one source has suggested that the final bill ended up being vastly more "conservative" because of Nancy's choice. Hard to tell from the outside, since these negotiations weren't exactly "transparent". We'll see now if the house makes any changes, and where they are. That might be an indication of what their contribution would have been, or it may merely be an indication that Pelosi still wants the fight.

[TomClash]

7. That's because the tax deal is only about one thing

His re-election.

[kentuck]

8. The truth finally emerges.

Thanks.

[TomClash]

26. You post good stuff nt

[polichick]

9. Just as the health insurance deal was about campaign contributions...

If you doubt it, read Taibbi's Griftopia. It's sickening but the truth often is.

[DURHAM D]

12. Amen. nt

[ProSense]

16. That's interesting

It will both destroy his Presidency and reassure his election?

Which is it?

[TomClash]

20. Well, HE thinks it will ensure his re-election

"Move to the center, capture moderate votes, the left has nowhere else to go, blah, blah, blah." We'll see, won't we?

[Lorien]

30. I don't give a flying fuck about Obama or his future

I care about what happens to the rest of America. This tax deal will screw us for decades to come.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[HuckleB]

11. Hmmm.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://www.budpocketguide.com/Business/car_rental.asp&usg=__aDKKTkSoRfGmHZk9VYE26vyv-k0=&h=367&w=400&sz=22&hl=en&start=0&sig2=wCaOVS8_9amkf3uM2itpFA&zoom=1&tbnid=-wTySx2WNR8gxM:&tbnh=140&tbnw=153&ei=0EEKTc_TIoqCsQPS6bz4Cg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Davis%2Bwe%2Btry%2Bharder%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1295%26bih%3D715%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=128&vpy=70&dur=618&hovh=215&hovw=234&tx=127&ty=129&oei=fkEKTYSlEYGesQPC0JiVCg&esq=10&page=1&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

[kentuck]

14. Are you getting paid for that commercial?

Just curious.

[HuckleB]

15. Boy, that would be nice.

[Bluebear]

13. Also. Why could Obama do nothing about DADT? ("It's up to Congress!!!")

For two years all I have heard about is how Obama has NOTHING to do with repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell because, why, Congress has to act! Obama could do nothing but sit in his lonely Oval Office playing Bedazzled on the computer, waiting. Waiting for a bill to sign! :cry:

Yet, here he negotiated a deal with the GOP and it's fine with the loyal and true. Whatever.

[TheKentuckian]

17. Blaming Congress is lame when you also give Obama credit for their work

and then ignore the deals he cuts and then forces them to comply with.

[xchrom]

18. oy -- i'm sure he was just tuckered after all that 'hard work'.

:eyes:

[Gin]

19. WE are his new BFF...the rethuglicans...he is speaking now and

I can't listen anymore....I mute the sound like I did for shrub...

[xchrom]

22. yeah -- i won't listen to him anymore either. nt

[xiamiam]

23. Geithner negotiated the deal..nt

[Scurrilous]

24. He's a Superiorite!!1!

A Superiorist.

Disser Superior.

[damntexdem]

25. How hard he or anyone else worked is irrelevant -- the deal should be shot down.

That he might have worked hard on it is just an indictment against him.

[TexasObserver]

27. Have you ever had a pet bring a carcass to your feet?

They're proud of it, and you're thinking "ewwwwwwww!"

[qb]

28. "Hard work" was Dumbya's favorite catch phrase.

:puke:

[JoePhilly]

29. Obama didn't keep House and Senate Democrats out .... they ran away ...

The Dems in the House and Senate needed to have the stones to stand and fight this BEFORE the mid-terms because that is when they had leverage.

Instead, they decided to hold symbolic votes in the lame duck session when they had ZERO LEVERAGE.

[L0oniX]

31. I'm sure he will not veto everything the repukes come up with for the next 2 years...

...got to reach across the aisle and all that shit. May he will form a new party called Centrists and be it's first primary candidate. He damn sure won't be winning the Dem ticket in 2012.

Kucinich/Grayson 2012

[Occam Bandage]

32. Congress could have negotiated it at any point in the past year. They punted.

It was either Obama negotiates or no bill gets passed.