Parsing the Prez #3

Quotes and translations from president 0bama's address of Sunday evening:

"Now, I’ve said from the beginning that the ultimate solution to our deficit problem must be balanced."

By which he means that the approach must be balanced, not the budget. We mustn't simply spend within our means, we must take more money from citizens to cover our spending.

"Now, is this the deal I would have preferred? No. I believe that we could have made the tough choices required — on entitlement reform and tax reform — right now, rather than through a special congressional committee process."

By which he means that it wasn't purely a credit line increase, or a plan where the credit limit was raised and taxes were raised by the same amount, thus holding the deficit steady.

"Now, this process has been messy; it’s taken far too long. I’ve been concerned about the impact that it has had on business confidence and consumer confidence and the economy as a whole over the last month."

By which he means only this last stretch when actual work was being done. He seems uninterested in the previous months and years during which his party refused to propose a budget when they controlled the House, and then to prevent passage of any proposed budget when they only had the Senate.

"Most of all, I want to thank the American people. It’s been your voices — your letters, your emails, your tweets, your phone calls — that have compelled Washington to act in the final days. And the American people’s voice is a very, very powerful thing."

By which he means that it felt like his votes were going away, and he was desperate both to implicate others and to look presidential while doing it, thus - he hopes - minimizing his further drop in approval polling.

In one way, it's frightening how transparent he is. In another way, it's comforting.

Posted by Pygmalion 56

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Parsing the Prez #2
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Parsing the Prez #2

"I mean, if the basic proposition is it's my way or the highway, then we're probably not going to get something done..." -- president 0bama

"I will not sign a 30-day or a 60-day or a 90-day extension. That is just not an acceptable approach." -- president 0bama

“Eric, don’t call my bluff,” president 0bama (to Rep. Eric Cantor)

0bama told Cantor that he would either have to agree to tax increases or give up on his demand that the debt hike be matched dollar-to-dollar to the cuts — that is, $2.5 trillion in deficit-reduction over 10 years in exchange for a $2.5 trillion hike in the debt ceiling.

So, the president is saying that when Republicans insist on their way, it's obstructionism, but when he insists on his way, it's negotiation.  Hard to parse that series of statements out any other way.

It's also interesting to see that he's admitted that he's bluffing ("don't call my bluff"), although the republicans seem unable to even post a rejoinder (such as "Oh, so you're bluffing, are you?").

Quite disheartening, but quite clear.  Also clear is that the feds are still telling us that the only way to get out of debt is to borrow more money. They need help.

Posted by Pygmalion 56

Related Posts:
    Parsing the Prez
    Parsing the Prez
    Parsing the Feds

Parsing the Prez

"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our government's reckless fiscal policies. ... Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that 'the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better." 

- Senator Barack Obama, 2006

It hardly takes any parsing to see that Senator Obama is in total disagreement with President Obama, and that he's desperate to keep us from knowing what he used to know.

Posted by Pygmalion 56

Parsing the Feds

parse -

transitive verb

2: to examine in a minute way : analyze critically

Our federal financial types are telling us that if we don't raise the debt limit so we can borrow more money, then we'll have to default on our current obligations. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says that interest rates would spike, stock and home values would sink, savings and investment would dry up, jobs would disappear, businesses would fail, and everything from tax refunds to troops' salaries would go unpaid.

Here's the translation for normal people:

We owe too much right now, so we'd better borrow some more.

It's interesting that paying down debt apparently hasn't occurred to anyone in DC.

I wish I could run my household like that. Of course, I wish I could tell my employer how much more he has to pay me every year as well.


Posted by Pygmalion 56