Obama aide: President is "committed to compromise"

David Plouffe / CBS News

(CBS News) President Obama's top campaign strategist, David Plouffe, blamed Republicans in Congress for not working with the president, and said that "President Obama is the one person in Washington who's very committed to compromise."

"[T]he only way we're going to solve our deficit challenges is to take a balanced approach," Plouffe said Sunday on "Face the Nation."

"[W]e can reform entitlements in a safe way - not by voucherizing Medicare but getting savings out of the system - and ask a little bit more from the wealthy. We can not only deal with the sequester; we can have a long-term fiscal package here that will really help our economy grow," Plouffe added.

Plouffe, meanwhile, said Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan didn't provide an accurate depiction of his support of upcoming defense cuts scheduled to take effect in the upcoming fiscal year.

"He was running away from them with the kind of pace I guess he ran in that fictional marathon you asked him about," Plouffe said about Ryan's vote for the automatic spending cuts, known as the sequester.

"As you said, he put out a statement praising it. They're acting as if they had nothing to do with this. They voted for this. And this sequester, you know, the way it was dealt with which was to make sure that both defense spending as well as domestic programs were part of the sequester, it's common," Plouffe said about Ryan. "And so the barrier to solving our fiscal challenges, the barrier to the sequester, is Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and too many Republicans in Congress - not all, but too many, [refusing] to ask anything of the very wealthy.

"Getting our fiscal house in order, dealing with the sequester [is] very simple: We need compromise," Ploufe said.

The president's adviser, who also ran Mr. Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, said this election is going to send a message to Washington politicians. "I do think one of the messages that's going to come through in this election is, the American people want us to compromise and they want a balanced approach."

Plouffe praised the Democratic convention as a mechanism that will help encourage the Democratic base to vote. "I think we definitely are going to help ourselves in terms of turnout. I think Obama supporters are very energized," he said.

"I think independent voters, what they saw from the president, from President Clinton and other speakers was a plan to move forward," he added. "What they heard from the Republicans was the same old failed recipes.

"We think it's going to be very close in eight or so states. But we think in the battleground states right now - Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, in Florida - where we are today, we've got a small but important lead. And we think that was enhanced coming out of both of our conventions."

[RIrider]

Plouffe is all Plouffed-up! Another lying loser! Obama committed to being a better golfer..yes..Obama committed to compromise..ha...ha..ha.

[MickKegeon]

Here is Obama and the Democrats "compromising" for the past 4 years.

--"They Bring a Knife...We Bring a Gun"
--"Get in Their Faces!"
-- "You gotta sit in the back"
--"Elections have consequences, and at the end of the day, I won."
--"I don't want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry! I'm angry!"
--"Hit Back Twice As Hard"
--"We talk to these folks... so I know whose azs to kick."
--"A Republican victory would mean "hand to hand combat"
--"It's time to Fight for it."
--"Punish your enemies."
--"The rich aren't paying enough"
--"I'm itching for a fight."
--"The Tea Party are terrorist"
--"lets take these sons-of-******* out"
--"You pay more, they lick their chops"
--"They're going to put y'all back in chains"
--"Its time to 'put them away'"

America needs a Leader, not an angry community organizer.

[Eco99]

Hey Mick, Action Speak Louder than words. Time and time again he caved to the Tea Party hostage holding tactics and Boehner famous quote "When you look at this final agreement that we came to with the White House, I got 98% of what I wanted. I'm pretty happy."

How can you say the Dems don't compromise. They even put Medicare and Social Security up for just minor tax increases from the Republicans. You righties sure do live in a fantasy world and have sold a lot of people on it, to bad reality will not be anywhere near it if Mitt wins.

[Ulgnud]

Committed to Compromise? You wouldn't be talking about the same Obama who told the republicans to "Go to the back of the bus" would you? Try Again. Out in Nov 2012.

[TJphoto]

You can't compromise with a party that only wants to get him of office, a party that could give a damned about the American People's suffering, which they caused. The 1% means everything to them!

[tsigili]

Nonsense. Obama has NEVER compromised on anything. It is either HIS way, or the highway. That is how dictators operate.

[Eco99]

LMAO ... go buy a clue.

[myopinionpal]

The president need to add toughness to compromise so the next time John Boehner won't walk away from the compromise table and say that I got 90% of what I wanted.

[laserwizard]

Pluffy is an evil, vindicative miscreant. Don't trust a word he says. He will sell out his country to win this election. He and David Axelwhore are two of the most dishonest and unethical men in the country. They make James Carville look like Mr Rogers.

[skeezix06]

If compromise includes giving away the entire store before the bargaining starts, then Obama can be seen as "committed to compromise". I've written him off as a loss. My vote is gone as far as he's concerned.

[audemus]

If this Presidential election is won by the Obama side, and they don't accomplish anything more for the next four years other than keeping Romney and Ryan and the fruit-cakes they represent out of power....that will be enough.

[sjc_1]

That is part of Hope and Change, you hope something will change with the Republicans and they will become reasonable. They have not so far, but hope springs eternal.