Barack Obama Does not “Cave” to Republicans Or Democrats

Barack Obama Does not “Cave” to Republicans Or Democrats

Barack Obama has shown once again to be the “outsider” pundits said it would take to get something done in Washington. He is not a politician’s politician by any stretch and stands in contrast to Capitol Hill game players, irrespective of party affiliation or race.

Why then should anyone expect the most productive American president to date to cave to either party, much less the democrat’s threat of not ratifying his deal?

Obama set the tone of his administration with his very first act as president by signing the Ledbetter Bill that gave women equal pay in the workplace. That was followed by Healthcare Reform and The Patient’s Bill of Rights which was 75 years in the making. The GOP said he was trying to do too much too soon. Still he pushed through Wall Street Reform, the Recovery Act, Consumer Protection Act, and created the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, as well as the Omnibus Bill to provide training, funding, and counseling for caregivers for Iraq and Afghan veterans, and promoted pilot childcare programs for women veterans under treatment at the VA. He also ended the Bush-era “black-out” imposed on media coverage of the return of fallen US soldiers.

President Obama made a promise to the American people that he would end the Bush tax cuts for the super rich, make middle class tax cuts permanent, extend unemployment compensation for 2 million laid off workers about to lose their emergency assistance in the middle of the holiday season, create jobs and improve the economy.

Washington Democrats have in the past shown themselves to be such losers that, even when they have a winning hand, they find a way to blow it. At the midterm elections, they didn’t bother to campaign on their own accomplishments made during the first two years of the Obama administration. As a result, they paid a heavier price during the elections than was expected.

How could they be expected to come up with a strategy other than to kick the Bush tax-break can farther down the preverbal road to the final day of the year? Were they attempting to “shame” the GOP into resolving tax breaks in their favor before the clock struck midnight December 31? (Did they seriously think they could shame the party that voted “no” to an increase of senior citizens cost of living, and “no” to a measure to help 911 first responders who had fallen ill as a result of their gallant rescue attempts?)

In stead of offering one excuse after another, why didn’t Democrats bring the tax bill to the floor? Why didn’t they force Republicans to work through their Thanksgiving recess to get it done before the end of the year? What made them believe they could actually embarrass the GOP who had made book on Obama’s failure? How long was the president suppose to wait before striking his deal?

With respect to the Bush-era tax cuts and extension of unemployment benefits, there is little doubt that Democrats wanted the same results as did the president. Unlike Obama, however, they showed more concern for denying tax breaks for the top 2% than extending benefits for the unemployed.

So that he may keep his promise to the American people, Obama struck a compromise with the GOP. What he received was more important than what he gave up. For working class Americans, he got an extension of the tax break and unemployment insurance. He also successfully negotiated a tax break for college students and small businesses.

If it can be said that Obama “caved” to the GOP, so be it, because what he gained can be expected to lead to the creation of a million of jobs in 2011. However, had he caved to the Democrats, the president would have gotten nothing.

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