Before His Budget Is Released On Monday, A Flashback To What Candidate Obama Said About Choosing Politics Over Leadership

THEN: Five Years Ago, Then-Sen. Barack Obama Attacked The “Chronic Avoidance Of Tough Decisions” As He Announced His Candidacy For President. “What’s stopped us is the failure of leadership, the smallness of our politics — the ease with which we’re distracted by the petty and trivial, our chronic avoidance of tough decisions, our preference for scoring cheap political points instead of rolling up our sleeves and building a working consensus to tackle the big problems of America.” (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks Announcing His Candidacy For President, Springfield, IL, 2/10/07)

NOW: President Obama “Has Been All-Too-Willing To Avoid Making Tough Decisions.” “One of President Obama’s political weaknesses in his first term has been that he’s all-too-willing to avoid making tough decisions, hesitant to expend political capital for potential long-term gain.  Throughout his first term in office, he’s had a cautious governing style, and has avoided taking on some of his party’s core constituencies.” (Josh Kraushaar, “Obama Trying To Have It Both Ways,” National Journal, 11/30/11)

OBAMA’S HANDLING OF FISCAL ISSUES HAS BEEN A TOUR DE FORCE IN DUCKING, DODGING AND FAILING TO LEAD

Obama’s Last Budget Caved To The President’s Political Ambitions And Ignored America’s Looming Fiscal Crisis

Obama’s FY2012 Budget Was “A Political Document By Someone That Wants To Win Re-Election.” “Obama’s $3.7 trillion budget is an opening bid, as well as a political document by someone who wants to win re-election… Bottom line: Presidential budgets are more political documents than anything else, and this budget is by someone who wants to win re-election.” (NBC News’ “ First Read,” 2/14/11)

The New York Times: “What Mr. Obama’s Budget Is Most Definitely Not Is A Blueprint For Dealing With The Real Long-Term Problems That Feed The Budget Deficit…” (Editorial, “The Obama Budget,” The New York Times, 2/14/11)

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 Ditched His Pledge To Cut The Deficit In Half

PROMISE: Obama Pledged To Cut The Deficit In Half By The End Of His First Term. OBAMA: “And that’s why today I’m pledging to cut the deficit we inherited by half by the end of my first term in office.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks At The Fiscal Responsibility Summit, Washington, D.C., 2/23/09)

• “President Barack Obama Plans To Cut The U.S. Budget Deficit To $533 Billion By The End Of His First Term …” (Hans Nichols, “Obama Plans To Reduce Budget Deficit To $533 Billion By 2013,” Bloomberg, 2/21/09)
• One White House Official Told Politico “We’ll Cut It At Least In Half.” “Under White House projections, this year’s inherited budget deficit of $1.3 trillion will be cut to $533 billion by fiscal year 2013, the end of the first term. ‘So we’ll cut it at least in half,’ the official said.” (Mike Allen, “Obama Vows To Cut Huge Deficit In Half,”Politico, 2/22/09)

FAIL: The CBO Projects The Deficit At The End Of Obama’s First Term Will Be $1.079 Trillion, Obama’s Fourth Straight Trillion Dollar Deficit. (“The Budget And Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012-2022,” Congressional Budget Office, 1/31/12; “Monthly Budget Review: November 2011,” Congressional Budget Office, 11/7/11)

• “If The CBO Estimate Is Correct, It Would Mean That The United States Recorded A Deficit Of More Than $1 Trillion For Every Year Of Obama’s First Term.” (Erik Wasson, “CBO Projects $1.08T Deficit, Higher Unemployment,” The Hill’s “On The Money,” 1/31/12)

• Even If Every Part Of Obama’s Deficit Reduction Proposal Was Enacted, The Deficit At The End Of His First Term Would Be Even Higher, $1.33 Trillion. (“The President’s Plan For Economic Growth And Deficit Reduction; Table S-3,” Office Of Management And Budget, 9/19/11)

• Politifact: “Obama Made A Pledge To Cut The Deficit In Half By The End Of His First Term. And He’s Falling Short So Far.” (Gregory Trotter, “Tim Pawlenty Says President Obama Is Going To Break Promise On Deficit And Will Double It,” Politifact, 6/10/11)

Obama Has Resorted To Scoring Cheap Political Points Rather Than Governing

The Buffett Rule “Has More Campaign Resonance Than The Big Changes That Would Really Deal With The Nation’s Fiscal Dilemma.” “But it’s an issue that has more campaign resonance than the big changes that would really deal with the nation’s fiscal dilemma, like reforming Medicare and Medicaid. It’s also a value issue for Obama. It is meant to get voters to identify with him, and not the other guy. It’s about “fairness” more than fiscal sanity. And you will be hearing a lot more about it.” (Michael Scherer, “The Numbers And Politics Of Barack Obama’s New Buffett Rule,” Time’s “Swampland,” 1/25/12)

• The “Sole Purpose” Of Proposing The Buffett Rule Was To Make It A “Mainstay In Democratic Campaign Ads.” “But Obama’s January speech to the country was more like a slam dunk contest than a blueprint for sober governance, with no-miss poll-tested proposals that won’t translate into points on the board unless Democrats win super-majorities in both houses, and even then maybe not. Take the so-called ‘Buffett Rule,’ which seems to have been introduced for the sole purpose of getting Republicans to reject it. It won’t appear on the House floor but it will be a mainstay in Democratic campaign ads. Some of ’em might even be bankrolled by super PACs.” (Jim Vandehei, “The Political Transformation Of Barack Obama,” Politico, 2/9/12)
• LA Times: “The Proposed Buffett Rule Is More A Political Statement Than A Deficit-Reduction Tool, Given How Little Money It May Raise.”  “The proposed Buffett rule is more a political statement than a deficit-reduction tool, given how little money it may raise. In that sense, it’s like Obama’s oft-repeated call to eliminate tax breaks for corporate jets. But asking higher-income Americans in general to pay more for the sake of deficit reduction is hardly class warfare; they’ve prospered disproportionately over the past decade, thanks in no small part to federal regulatory and fiscal policies that helped them more than any other segment of society. As a result, they’re in a better position than any other group to help close the budget gap.” (Editorial, “The ‘Buffet Rule,’ And More,” Los Angeles Times, 9/20/11)
• Watch WH Press Secretary Jay Carney Admit The Buffett Rule Isn’t Actually A Policy But A Principle

The Buffett Rule Is “Unlikely To Have Any Big Impact On Uncle Sam’s Bottom Line.” “Some basic math can tell you that no matter how good progressive taxation might be for the nation’s soul, getting this rule into place is unlikely to have any big impact on Uncle Sam’s bottom line. Daniel Indiviglio, of The Atlantic, did some back-of-the-envelope calculations on this last fall. He found that even if you taxed millionaires at some ridiculous rate, like 100%, you would not come close to closing the budget deficit. The likely impact is much smaller.” (Michael Scherer, “The Numbers And Politics Of Barack Obama’s New Buffett Rule,” Time’s Swampland, 1/25/12)

• Which Is Why Obama Has Not Actually Proposed The Buffet Rule As Legislation Because It Would Trigger “An Official Budgetary Score.” “Obama is pitching the Buffett Rule as having major savings potential. … But it is notable that President Obama does not plan to ask for the Buffett Rule as legislation, which would trigger an official budgetary score.” (Michael Scherer, “The Numbers And Politics Of Barack Obama’s New Buffett Rule,” Time’s Swampland, 1/25/12)

Obama’s Deficit Reduction Proposal Was Loaded With Gimmicks To Hide Its Flaws

USA Today: “The Plan’s Flaws Are Troubling.” “But the plan’s flaws are troubling. It pretends that enough money can be raised simply by raising taxes on the rich. It can’t. There aren’t enough of them. Nor does the president’s plan match his promise to ‘live within our means’ and ‘pay down’ debt. Even if it were fully enacted, the nation would add $6 trillion in debt over the next 10 years.” (Editorial, “Editorial: Politics Takes Priority In Obama’s Deficit Plan,” USA Today, 9/19/11)

• Independent Budget Experts Said Obama’s Debt Plan Fell Short Of Its Advertised Savings. “President Obama projects that his new plan for reducing the federal debt will save more than $3 trillion over the next decade by raising taxes on the wealthy and slashing spending on a host of government programs, from farm subsidies to federal worker pensions. But independent budget experts said the blueprint that Obama unveiled Monday — which White House officials say would save more than $4 trillion when added to earlier budget deals this year — appears to fall short of his target.” (Lori Montgomery And Jia Lynn Yang, “Budget Analysts Say Obama Deficit Plan Is Likely To Miss Its Targets,” The Washington Post, 9/19/11)

The Washington Post: “The Administration’s Claim To Have Come Up With $4 Trillion In Deficit Reduction Is Misleading. The More Accurate Amount Is Barely Half That …” “The administration’s claim to have come up with $4 trillion in deficit reduction is misleading. The more accurate amount is barely half that, including about $1 trillion in domestic and security spending cuts already agreed to as part of the debt ceiling deal, and $1.5 trillion in tax increases on the wealthy.” (Editorial, “In Debt Plan, Mr. Obama Goes ‘Medium’,” The Washington Post, 9/19/11)

• WP: “The administration gives itself credit for another $1 trillion by counting savings — already incorporated in any realistic base line — from winding down military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Editorial, “In Debt Plan, Mr. Obama Goes ‘Medium’,” The Washington Post, 9/19/11)
• WP: “The administration further pads its results by giving itself credit for $866 billion in ‘savings’ from letting the George W. Bush tax cuts expire for those making more than $250,000 a year.” (Editorial, “In Debt Plan, Mr. Obama Goes ‘Medium’,” The Washington Post, 9/19/11)