What Obama Accomplished

I want to make sure that I am as fair to the President as I strive to be to the Republicans I often disagree with. Let me make clear, I think the President has a crippling aversion to using the power he has gained by nature of being reelected, his overwhelming need to be seen as " above politics" makes him consequently a poor politician.

I do not support his fiscal cliff bill. I believe he gave too much and got too little.

That said to be fair I should acknowledge what the President did accomplish in this bill.

He did have the Bush tax cuts repealed for individuals with incomes over 400 K and couples over 450K. By doing so he has placed Republicans on the record of breaking their no tax pledge and in theory could set up a precedent for them seeing that the world did not end.

He did not lower or limit any benefits currently paid to Social Security recipients.

He did extend unemployment benefits for another year.

He did gain a modest increase in the taxes paid with the estate tax.

The Alternative Minimum Tax issue that has to be dealt with each year has finally been put to bed.


The payroll tax cut was not extended. As a Democrat I was not in favor of this cut as it was from Social Security. I found it to be playing in to the hands of Republicans who want to starve the program to kill it.

What did it not accomplish. I have spoke of that previously and I do not want to be repetitive. However there were a couple of glaring failures by the President.

There was no need to extend the Bush tax cuts beyond the barrier of 250K, and if the President was going to do so he should have gained more for doing so.

The infitismal carried interest rate of much less than one percent for the super rich still exists. Mitt Romney surely appreciates that.

The estate tax still only affects estates of over five million. This was a perfect opportunity to finally change the language that has been coopted by Republicans on the estate tax, not the death tax. Moreover if, as we are told Midwestern Democrats were skittish on this issue it would have given Obama a great chance to show that he wants all sides to share in the pain.

Perhaps most importantly by agreeing to a package that is all revenue increases and no spending cuts the President did exactly what those on the far right accuse him of doing. Being a liberal tax and spend. The President should have found one of two obvious targets and insisted they be in the bill. You cannot be taken seriously if you are just as shallow as your Congressman when it comes to making a tough decision.

Was this the best that could have been accomplished. I refuse to believe it. This President is an awful, perhaps the worst I have ever seen, negotiator.

We will be talking about the debt ceiling in a couple of months. Lets hope that somehow, someway this President changes is ways.