He is not a policy-maker, and he is not being candid about the sacrifices everyone, and not just the wealthy, will need to make to resolve the looming debt crisis.
Unfortunately, I am. Stimulus, "Obamacare" and Dodd-Frank were all written on the Hill and Obama just tried to help shepherd them through, and his "super-negotiator" stance is precisely why Dems who are complaining above are saying he is too "weak." The budgets proposed by the White House have been less than coherent and not all that popular among members of even the Dem caucus. I also believe, though I know not too many are with me, that in order to maintain adequate levels of coverage through Medicare and Medicaid and keep Social Security solvent, in order to make necessary national investments and in order to tackle our debt, the middle-class and not just the wealthy are going to have to kick in more tax money in the future. When Bill Clinton realized that in 1993, he gave up on the middle-classs tax cut he had pledged in his first campaign, and the budgets he proposed and then worked out with Congress were successful. Obama is still campaigning on the premise that only the top 2.5% of income earners are going to have to give up anything to accomplish all the things we need to do and it's just not true. But, having said all that, I give him credit where credit is due. And I don't want to see Romney become president.
