President Barack Obama himself intervened in amending of the Democratic party platform. Before a tumultuous floor vote to change the platform, there was no reference to “God” and the document lacked an assertion that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. On the removal of God, Obama reportedly said, “Why was it changed in the first place?”
So now that Obama is altering the platform, will he also intervene to add language regarding deficit reduction? After all, Obama and congressional Democrats have publicly advocated a “balanced approach” to paying down the deficit; former White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee describes it as a “three to one” ratio of spending cuts to tax increases.
But as Talking Points Memo reported, the Democratic platform draws a different line in the sand: no more spending cuts to reduce the deficit. Instead, the platform focuses on raising taxes:
So does the Democratic platform reflect Obama’s position on deficit reduction? If so, will Obama continue to campaign on a “balanced approach”?