“Scarred by failed negotiations in his first term” President Obama has become a “disciplined and unyielding” negotiator The New York Times reports on its front page today. “In his first four years in office, Mr. Obama has repeatedly offered what he considered compromises on stimulus spending, health care and deficit reduction to Republicans, who either rejected them as inadequate or pocketed them and insisted on more,” The Times reports.
“When he crafted a stimulus spending program to bolster the economy shortly after taking office,” The Times continues, “Mr. Obama devoted roughly a third of the money to tax cuts that he assumed Republicans would like. They did not.” “If you already have a third of the package as tax cuts,” Obama is quoted in the story, “Then the Republicans, who traditionally are more comfortable with tax cuts, may just pocket that and attack the other components of the program.”
