The President is a freaking genius !

[sellitman]

He is letting the GOP save face by letting them take credit for taking the Chained CPI off the table.

This way he gets exactly what he was after anyway.


Brilliant!

[Buzz Clik]

1. Ah, crap.

Can we hate him anyway?

[JoePhilly]

7. Don't worry, plenty here on HairOnFireUnderground will hate him anyway.

[Tarheel_Dem]

26. +1

[meti57b]

28. LOL!!!!!!!!

[greatauntoftriplets]

30. Love the new name!!!

[Hekate]

35. heehee. The excitement never ends, at HOFU.

[MADem]

40. That was hilarious--you win the thread!

[heaven05]

50. you

got that right. But they would find something wrong with a perfect human being who happened to be POTUS. I have learned to IGNORE them. And yes I do trust, with some reservation, this politician who is POTUS. Have a good one.

[skeewee08]

51. Lol u made me spit my juice out on my ipad

[KT2000]

57. Do you think we would get an Alert

if the acronym HOFU comes up now and then? Maybe just a new smilie would do it!

[Tutonic]

59. Tee hee hee

[grahamhgreen]

42. You do realize he was sending you up?

[MjolnirTime]

2. Tell it the clowns who have been shitting all over Obama for weeks here.

Once again they insisted he was cutting SS.
Once again they blew it.

Gobama!

[JDPriestly]

44. He admitted this morning that he proposed cutting Social Security.

The clowns are those who deny that fact. Would he have accepted the so-called "compromise" that would cost seniors and save middle class tax cuts? Most certainly. He said he would have.

Do those who think Obama was not offering to cut Social Security think that he lied this morning to David Gregory? Or that Obama did not bargain in good faith with Republicans?

Because I don't think he lied, and I think he offered cuts in Social Security sincerely and in good faith (Not good faith to those of us who are present or future Social Security recipients).

I think Obama said very clearly that he tried to "compromise" by cutting Social Security and that the Republicans refused his, Obama's offer.

I listened to the whole Meet the Press interview, and what Obama said was very clear to me. I have no reason to think the President was lying.

[sellitman]

60. He knew they would never accept it.

He is playing three dimensional chess and the GOP isn't.

Don't you get it?

[JDPriestly]

62. Dangerous game!

He let ignorant people think that Democrats want to cut Social Security and Republicans stopped them. Not very good chess in my book.

[sellitman]

63. End game

He wins. We win. I'm not unhappy he fooled the ignorant. They probably weren't his demographic anyhow.

[bowens43]

3. He still has you fooled......oh well youre not the only one.

[MjolnirTime]

5. Your ilk are the ones who look foolish. But should we really expect different?

You've been wrong about Obama since 2008 and you haven't learned a damn thing in the past 4 years.

[Buzz Clik]

10. +1!

[Cha]

16. I see you as the one who is "fooled".

[JDPriestly]

45. Love is blind. I now know what that means. Wow!!!

[Cha]

49. I don't think you "see' anything.

[MADem]

41. Doubling down, are ya?

You'd probably do better writing lines for Jon Lovitz....you're not sounding terribly convincing.

[leveymg]

4. I can guarantee it will go back on the table later.

If it was never on the table, the GOOP wouldn't have accepted "credit" for taking it off. It wasn't even relevant to the Cliff.

[MjolnirTime]

6. You can't guarantee anything except the fact that you will continue to bash Obama.

That we can all be sure of.

[leveymg]

12. You wanna give me odds on that one?

Tell you what, if in 6 mos there's no resurrection of the Chain or similar adjustment of SS COLA by the Administration, I'll make a $50 donation to DU in your name. If I'm right, will you make it a C-note?

[alcibiades_mystery]

17. Why the 2:1 odds if you're so sure

Shouldn't it be the other way?

[leveymg]

18. I didn't think anyone would take me up on it. I was right. Even if I gave odds.

[MjolnirTime]

19. The odds are 1:1 that you will continue to bash. What kind of bet is that?

[leveymg]

21. I don't need to bash. If Obama wants to spit on the third rail and make it spark as a party trick,

he can be my guest. But, it was no act of genius.

[MjolnirTime]

25. and yet, that's all you really do. Just look at your posts.

[leveymg]

38. How would you know? You obviously haven't.

I post about many things, and I give credit where credit is due.

[JDPriestly]

46. We aren't bashing Obama as a person; we are bashing his proposal to cut Social Security.

There are lots of things about Obama that I like very much. His attacks on Social Security are not among them.

[Cha]

9. The gops put it on in the first place..

But let’s be clear, this is something that the Republicans have asked for, and as part of an effort to find common ground with the Republicans, the President has agreed to put this in his proposal -- agreed to have this as part of a broad deficit reduction package that includes asking the wealthiest to pay more so that we can achieve the kind of revenue targets that are necessary for a balanced approach to deficit reduction.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/12/18/press-briefing-press-secretary-jay-carney-12182012

[leveymg]

13. No - this same idea was on the table during the Clinton Admin., along with privatizing SS.

More recently, it's a notion put forward by both sides of the Catfood Commission.

[Cha]

14. Yes, Jay Carney said the repubs brought it up.

[leveymg]

20. Depends upon when you start the clock. Recall it was a feature of the '98 proposals that were

revived in large part by the Catfood Commissioners a couple years ago. Now, here it is again from Obama. Gone again, but it will reappear Cheshire Cat-like in a few months.

[man4allcats]

8. Really? I'm quite willing to accept your premise once there is sufficient evidence to support it.

Right now, I think your conclusion is a bit premature. He's either a genius or a conservative manipulator. Time will tell which description fits best.

[Cha]

15. "A conservative manipulator"?.. Yeah right..

"Obama Ends ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Policy"
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/23/us/23military.html

"Obama Endorses Same-Sex Marriage Initiatives In 3 States"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/26/obama-same-sex-marriage_n_2020733.html
.
"Obama Says Same-Sex Marriage Should Be Legal"
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/us/politics/obama-says-same-sex-marriage-should-be-legal.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

"We'll Keep This List Going. Here are 206 Obama Accomplishments, With Citations! He's Done Plenty!"
http://pleasecutthecrap.typepad.com/main/what-has-obama-done-since-january-20-2009.html

"ObamaCare Facts: Facts on the Obama Health Care Plan
ObamaCare Facts 2012 - We Tell you the Facts, Not The Talking Points"
http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-facts.php

[sheshe2]

36. Good answer!

[JDPriestly]

47. Are you saying that Obama likes gays and doctors, but not old people?

Just teasing you.

[Hekate]

58. Good links, Cha!

[loyalkydem]

11. that would explain why we're seeing a few of them conceede

[Demo_Chris]

22. So now the GOP is fighting to save SS while our guy wants to cut it?

He's a genius!

[Jake2413]

23. Nice

But I hope he doesn't do an end run

[joshcryer]

24. The Republicans were never going to vote for poverty reduction of nearly 4 million seniors.

Therefore Chained CPI wasn't really on the table any more than I can expect my nephew to eat his broccoli.

[madrchsod]

27. yup.....

[Tarheel_Dem]

29. This will come up in every budget fight for the next four years. Teabaggers....

claiming he's a socialist, and Socialists claiming he's a Corporatist who wants to make your granny eat cat food. Of course, they're both full of it, so he must be doing something right.

[Jennicut]

55. Pretty much.

My conservative parents think Obama's Satan. Some on DU think he wants to do in old people and is almost Satan.

I am inclined to think he falls somewhere in between.

[doc03]

31. I don't see the genius in it. You are right the Republicans will

take credit for saving us from the chained CPI. They will use it in ads in 2014 to win more seats in the House. All this will do is kick the can down the road a couple months until the debt ceiling and they will have Obama right where they want him.

[Third Doctor]

34. I agree

The repugs will come out looking better in this part than Obama even though it was them that requested it. Why? Obama just spent months saying that he would defend SS and for the second time he let it into the discussions for a possible cut.. I don't see the genius in it either. It just seems like he weakened his hand for no good reason and pissed his base off.

[Hekate]

37. It pissed off the part of Obama's "base" that never liked or trusted him in the first place

Just my observation.

He has not weakened his hand and SS is still safe.

[Cha]

39. They can put it in ads all they want.. all they do is lie but, they're a

"CHAIN OF FOOLS"


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

."Fiscal Cliff: GOP Gives In On Social Security Cuts In Stalled Talks"

The cut that GOP leaders had proposed -- picking up on a now-defunct offer from President Barack Obama -- involved basing Social Security cost-of-living adjustments on a chained consumer price index (CPI), which grows more slowly than current measures of inflation and therefore would give seniors less in benefits as time went on.

But Senate Republicans realized in a caucus meeting Sunday afternoon that the idea was a loser for now, even if they might return to it in reaching a larger deal later on.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/30/fiscal-cliff-social-security-chained-cpi_n_2385623.html

But let’s be clear, this is something that the Republicans have asked for, and as part of an effort to find common ground with the Republicans, the President has agreed to put this in his proposal -- agreed to have this as part of a broad deficit reduction package that includes asking the wealthiest to pay more so that we can achieve the kind of revenue targets that are necessary for a balanced approach to deficit reduction.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/12/18/press-briefing-press-secretary-jay-carney-12182012

Brian Fallon

@brianefallon MT @jamespmanley For the record- repub senators like rubio denying that they wanted the cpi change-um, well, they are not telling the truth

[Brother Buzz]

32. Obama was a quick study of sun tzu

[bemildred]

33. Yep, classic Calvin-ball.

It was very funny reading Reid's compliments for Mitch's "sincerity" too.

[JDPriestly]

43. He should never have put chained CPI on the table.

Republicans will blame him for having done that. He should have waited for Republicans to suggest it.

In negotiations, you never, never offer something unless you are asked to do it.

Those negotiations were very poorly managed on the Democratic side.

Similarly, Democrats really messed up in 2008 during the banking crisis. They should have insisted on fair treatment for those in foreclosure. It was obvious from the beginning.

It is unfortunate that political talent does not necessarily come with mathematical ability or a sense of justice.

[Cha]

53. Maybe if you got the story straight you'd quit blaming President Obama

and start putting the blame where it deserves to go.

CHAIN OF FOOLS

"Fiscal Cliff: GOP Gives In On Social Security Cuts In Stalled Talks"

The cut that GOP leaders had proposed -- picking up on a now-defunct offer from President Barack Obama -- involved basing Social Security cost-of-living adjustments on a chained consumer price index (CPI), which grows more slowly than current measures of inflation and therefore would give seniors less in benefits as time went on.

But Senate Republicans realized in a caucus meeting Sunday afternoon that the idea was a loser for now, even if they might return to it in reaching a larger deal later on.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/30/fiscal-cliff-social-security-chained-cpi_n_2385623.html

[JEB]

48. As long as it is off the table,

I could give a flying frig who gets the credit.

[AldoLeopold]

52. I want my props too

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2036506

"It is possible this is a grand raise

To see how far they'll go. It is possible. In my opinion, in pure braincells, this guy has got the top marks.

I look forward to the conclusion of the hand." - AldoLeopold

I love quoting myself!!!!!!!!!!!

[MotherPetrie]

54. He's not getting what he wanted. He wanted chained CPI.

If he didn't get it this round, he'll wait for the next.

[AldoLeopold]

56. Look! Another Cupie doll all for me!

[sellitman]

61. He never wanted it.

He used it as a barganing ploy.

His ploy is working. he is three steps ahead of the GOP.