Economy
In reply to the discussion: Weekend Economists Batten Down the Hatches October 26-28, 2012 [View all]Demeter
(85,373 posts)TALK ABOUT YOUR SLOW LEARNER, POOR LISTENER, DOESN'T KNOW WHICH SIDE OF HIS BREAD IS BUTTERED...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/obama-says-hell-renew-pursuit-of-grand-bargain-offering-specifics-on-agenda/2012/10/24/0e2b843c-1e0e-11e2-9cd5-b55c38388962_story.html
President Obama, criticized as failing to offer a vision for a potential second term, has begun sketching out his agenda with greater specificity in recent days, including a pledge to solve the nations intractable budget problems within the first six months. In an interview made public Wednesday, Obama said he would pursue a grand bargain with Republicans to tame the national debt and would quickly follow that with a push to overhaul the nations immigration laws.
...STOP ME IF YOU'VE HEARD THAT ONE BEFORE...
With less than two weeks until Election Day, Obama chose to highlight two issues that have bedeviled him during his presidency: the debt, which has soared past $16 trillion on his watch, and immigration legislation, which never got off the launching pad over the past three years. Both are politically significant, with the debt a concern among independent voters and immigration important to the Hispanics who could decide whether Obama carries swing states such as Colorado and Nevada.
The interview, conducted Tuesday with the editor and publisher of the Des Moines Register, the largest newspaper in Iowa, also marked an unusual moment in the presidents dealings with the press. Obama had initially insisted that the exchange, which he conducted by phone from a stop in Florida, be off the record. Then on Wednesday, his campaign abruptly decided to release a transcript after the newspapers editor, Rick Green, wrote a blog post calling the interview terms a disservice to voters. Obama is seeking the influential papers endorsement. The transcript gave a surprising glimpse of Obama as political pundit, gaming out timetables and calculations for his dealings with Capitol Hill Republicans. He predicted, for instance, that an expectedly poor showing by Republican challenger Mitt Romney among Hispanics would put pressure on GOP lawmakers to ease their opposition to an immigration overhaul that offers a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants....
WHEELER-DEALER DRONE BOY...TWISTING IN WHICHEVER WIND IS BLOWING AT THE MOMENT. A VERITABLE FLYWEIGHT. ON PAR WITH MILLARD FILLMORE...