Research Briefing

OBAMA’S SPEECH WILL BE SHORT ON SPECIFICS, AS USUAL

“Obama Will Not Blaze A Fresh Path When He Delivers A Much-Anticipated Speech Wednesday Afternoon At George Washington University.” (Lori Montgomery and Zachary A, Goldfarb, “Obama Turns To His Bipartisan Deficit Commission’s Blueprint For Reducing Debt,” The Washington Post, 4/11/11)

Obama Will Not Provide Specific Policy Solutions For Fiscal Reform In His Speech.  “It's looking less likely that President Barack Obama's speech Wednesday will embrace a lot of specific ideas on how to cut Medicare and Medicaid — which would get him in trouble with Democrats and progressive groups anyway.” (David Nather, “Insiders: Obama Won’t Do Details,” Politico, 4/12/11)

• “While Carney Promised That The Speech Would Offer Explicit Targets For Reducing Deficits Over The Long Term, People Briefed By The White House Said They Expect Obama To Lay Out A General Approach With Few Details.” (Lori Montgomery and Zachary A, Goldfarb, “Obama Turns To His Bipartisan Deficit Commission’s Blueprint For Reducing Debt,” The Washington Post, 4/11/11)

• Obama Will Stick To Talking “In More General Themes” Instead Of Getting Into Details. “Instead, his health care allies are expecting him to talk in more general themes, focusing on cutting wasteful health care spending rather than cutting Medicare and Medicaid benefits.” (David Nather, “Insiders: Obama Won’t Do Details,” Politico, 4/12/11 

NO SURPRISE, CONSIDERING OBAMA HAS NOT LED ON FISCAL REFORM AT ALL

“Letting Others Take The Lead On Complex Problems Has Become A Hallmark Of The Obama Presidency.” (Lori Montgomery and Zachary A, Goldfarb, “Obama Turns To His Bipartisan Deficit Commission’s Blueprint For Reducing Debt,” The Washington Post, 4/11/11)

The Washington Post: “President Obama’s Budget Kicks The Hard Choices Further Down The Road.” (Editorial, “President Obama’s Budget Kicks The Hard Choices Further Down The Road,” The Washington Post, 2/15/11)

• Given The Chance To Show Leadership With His Budget, Obama "Chose Instead To Duck" Behind "The Sort Of Budgetary Gimmicks He Once Derided." "Having been given the chance, the cover and the push by the fiscal commission he created to take bold steps to raise revenue and curb entitlement spending, President Obama, in his fiscal 2012 budget proposal, chose instead to duck. To duck, and to mask some of the ducking with the sort of budgetary gimmicks he once derided."  (Editorial, "President Obama's Budget Kicks The Hard Choices Further Down The Road," The Washington Post, 2/15/11)

Obama Has Been “Mostly AWOL” On The “Big Ideological Budget Discussions.” “They're also talking about the big, ideological budget discussions that must occur in the future. ‘There are going to be I think very sharply contrasting visions in terms of where we should move the country,’ Obama said. ‘That's a legitimate debate to have.’ Really? So where has the president been in that debate? Mostly AWOL, so far as I can tell.” (Gloria Borger, Op-Ed, “Washington, We’re Done With High School,” CNN, 4/6/11)

 THE ONLY THING OBAMA IS SURE TO PROPOSE ARE MASSIVE TAX HIKES

Obama Will Of Course Call For Higher Income And Social Security Taxes. “Obama would end tax breaks for households earning more than $250,000 a year, trim Pentagon spending, lift a cap on the amount of income that is assessed for Social Security, and save on Medicare and Medicaid through alterations to healthcare delivery, administration officials said.” (Peter Nicholas, Christi Parsons, and James Oliphant,  “Obama To Draw Sharp Contrast With GOP Over Deficit,” Los Angeles Times, 4/12/11)

• Obama’s Plan For Higher Taxes Could Cost Americans Trillions Of Dollars. SEN. HILLARY CLINTON: “If you lift the cap completely, that is a one trillion dollar tax increase.” (Sen. Hillary Clinton, CNN Democrat Presidential Candidates Debate, Las Vegas, NV, 11/15/07)

• Click To Watch Then-Sen. Hillary Clinton Criticize Obama’s Trillion Dollar Tax Hike