The President's conciliatory tax cut summit with Republicans gave the GOP control over the nation's agenda. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has now vowed to block all bills until he gets his way.
What did the President's feel good summit accomplish? Obama gave credence to their ideas. More significantly, he showed weakness and an unwillingness to stand his ground or show any kind of principle to the populace.
Obama is running away from the stimulus's success, and is validating the same bad Republican policies that led us into this mess. Worse still, he is rolling over without a fight.
The Congressional Budget Office, Standard & Poors, and Moody's all consider tax cuts for the wealthy to be the least effective stimulus. Another tax cut will only add to the debt and widen the chasm of income disparity.
Why on Earth would we extend Bush's policies? It doesn't make economic sense, and there is a strong argument for not doing it.
If the President is to compromise, it should be for gaining something better. I could live with a blend of stimulus such as tax cuts could be given to small businesses or a larger tax cut for the working class. We can't always get everything that we want.
However, you don't get anything close to what you want by surrendering. The GOP has effectively taken the reigns while Democrats still control the Congress. Meanwhile, the people worst hit by the Great Recession face growing uncertainty.
Millions are seeing end to their unemployment insurance even though unemployment benefits are a fast and effective stimulus. Rolling over to the Republicans when people need relief -- and the economy requires more stimulus -- is not leadership.
We need a President with principle, who is not afraid to fight for what's best for the country and its most vulnerable people. It's a strong morale argument backed by economic reason.
I wish that President was Barack Obama, but he's willingly placed himself on the GOP's leash and abandoned his own campaign promise to allow the Bush billionaires' tax cuts to expire. It's a sad, spineless state of affairs.