I noted this morning that Obama's strategy going forward will be to position himself as Washinton's lone resident adult in a town full of squabbling children on right and left, and at his presser just now, Obama offered a surprisingly stern, and even angry, rebuke to his liberal critics that will generate a fair amount of discussion.
The whole thing is worth quoting at length. Asked by a reporter if the Bush tax cuts deal showed that he has no core principles that he's willing to stand firm on, Obama said:
This notion that somehow we are willing to compromise too much reminds me of the debate that we had during health care. This is the public option debate all over again. I pass a signature piece of legislation where we finally get health care for all Americans, something that Democrats have been fighting for for a hundred years. But because there was a provision in there that they didn't get, that would have affected maybe a couple of million people, even though we got health insurance for 30 million people, and the potential for lower premiums for maybe 100 million people, that somehow that was a sign of weakness, of compromise.
If that's the standard by which we are measuring success or core principles, then let's face it: We will never get anything done. People will have the satisfaction of having a purist position, and no victories for the American people. And we will be able to feel good about ourselves and sanctimonious about how pure our intentions are and how tough we are.
rest at http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/12/obama_adult-in-chief_in_a_town.html
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