State of the Union: Obama, GOP battle to frame 2012 fight
The central theme of President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday night was the notion that in America, everybody deserves a fair shake - and that his policies will help make sure they have one.
The central theme of Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels' Republican response was that Mr. Obama has shown himself to be a divisive failure that has chosen class warfare and stifling big government over economic progress.
The outcome of the 2012 presidential election depends in large part on which of those arguments Americans decide to embrace.
The centerpiece of Mr. Obama's call for economic fairness was the so-called "Buffett Rule," which is predicated on the notion that the wealthy investor should pay as much as his secretary in taxes. (Mr. Obama said Tuesday night that anyone making more than $1 million per year should pay no less than a 30 percent tax rate; we learned earlier in the day that one of the chief contenders for the GOP presidential nomination, Mitt Romney, paid less than 14 percent on $21.7 million in income in 2010.)
"Now, you can call this class warfare all you want," he said. "But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense."
Class warfare is exactly what Republicans are calling it. House Speaker John Boehner - who sat behind Mr. Obama during the speech, along with Vice President Joe Biden - suggested earlier in the day that the president's politics of "division and envy" are "almost un-American." Daniels said that "no feature of the Obama Presidency has been sadder than its constant efforts to divide us, to curry favor with some Americans by castigating others."
Mr. Obama would seem to have the advantage in this fight: A CBS News/New York Times poll out Tuesday found that 55 percent of Americans think upper-income taxpayers pay less than their fair share. And in the wake of the emergence of the "Occupy" movement, a Pew survey earlier this month found that two in three Americans now see a strong conflict between rich and poor. Even the two leading Republican presidential candidates, Romney and Newt Gingrich, have gotten into a fight over whether Romney's former company Bain Capital engages in heartless capitalism that rewards the rich while leaving average Americans behind.
That's why Republicans are not eager to spend the year fighting on Mr. Obama's terms. Instead, they want to put the focus squarely on the fact that Mr. Obama has spent three years presiding over an economy that has yet to recover from the 2008 financial crisis. Daniels said Tuesday night that the president "cannot claim that the last three years have made things anything but worse: the percentage of Americans with a job is at the lowest in decades. One in five men of prime working age, and nearly half of all persons under 30, did not go to work today." (Daniels' full remarks are at left; the president's are above.)
This is the argument that Republicans want to have. A CBS/NYT poll earlier this month showed that just 40 percent of Americans approve of Mr. Obama's handling of the economy, while 54 percent disapprove. Only 35 percent say the president has made real progress on the economy, which voters overwhelmingly say is their top concern. If Republicans can hammer home the notion that Mr. Obama has failed to guide the economy effectively - in a way that has harmed all Americans, rich, poor and middle-class - they will likely win the election.
From a political perspective, good news for the economy is bad news for the Republicans: Amid signs that the economy is improving, the survey showed a slight uptick in perceptions of the condition of the economy - and Mr. Obama's handling of it. Still, the economic picture is unlikely to be rosy in November, and Republicans know their best hope is to convince Americans that Mr. Obama has squandered his opportunity to turn things around.
That's the reason you heard Daniels speaking in relatively dour terms Tuesday night. "When President Obama claims that the state of our union is anything but grave, he must know in his heart that this is not true," he said at the outset of his remarks. You can expect to hear the GOP hammering home that notion right up until Election Day.
The other key plank in the GOP offensive against Mr. Obama is the notion that he wants an overregulating, nanny-state government that doesn't let American businesses succeed and American individuals make their own choices. That argument has long been effective for Republicans, which is why you heard Mr. Obama note Tuesday night that he "approved fewer regulations in the first three years of my presidency than my Republican predecessor did in his." It's also why he uttered a line you'd expect to hear from a Republican: That he believes "[g]overnment should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves, and no more."
But that's playing defense, and Mr. Obama knows he needs to play offense. That's why he brought Buffett's secretary to his speech Tuesday night, and it's why he's embarking on a three day swing-state tour on Wednesday to hammer home his State of the Union arguments. The president and his re-election team believe that a focus on income inequality and economic fairness are good politics. They also know that while Romney may well be a formidable opponent if he gets the nomination, a focus on income inequality could transform what was supposed to be the former Massachusetts governor's biggest strength - his time in the business world, which helped him reach a net worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars - into a weakness that puts him on the wrong side of an argument they are eager to have.
The most stark absence from President Obama's SOTU address was the fact that he totally ignored the massive debt we have accumulated under his administration. It grew under most Presidents, but it accelerated dramatically under him. He talked about making major cuts to defense - but did he indicate that he would use those savings to bring down the debt? NO. He talked about spending that money on other federal projects. He has NO PLAN to deal with our racing toward national bankruptcy. He has ZERO plans to stop this reckless and irresponsible nonsense.
I listened to the President Obama's third State of the Union Address, and I have come to the conclusion that he is a schizophrenic. He talked about everyone playing by the same rules, after giving out $100s of billions of taxpayer dollars to corporations of his choice while allowing other businesses to fend for themselves. He talked about reducing federal regulations on business, after burying American businesses under increased regulations contained in his disastrous health care law, He talked about national unity, after he has divided Americans and pitted one group of Americans against another for three years. He announced that "America is back", after burying the nation under deficit spending like no other President in American history. He announced "no more bailouts", after being the king of bailouts. He talked about energy independence, after stopping a oil pipeline that would have made American less dependent on middle-eastern oil and would have created more than 20,000 jobs. I have never heard a more twisted, muddled, and conflicted speech in all my life.
There is nothing that says wages at the bottom have to increase on pace with wages at the top. The top bracket earners are better educated, more talented and also share in profits because of the level of their involvement in the company. They deserve better pay and more wealth.
30 years ago I could train a monkey to do data entry or flip a burger. Is that same monkey supposed to be earning 300% more today to do the same thing I trained him for 30 years ago? Definitely not. And the one doing data entry should be grateful I don't buy a speech to text converter and make him obsolete.
noloyal, I didn't hear you complaining 5, 6, 7 years ago. Was it not a decent country for our kids then? The truth is, once the economy turns around, and it will, all you crackpots will quiet down, go back to work and the cycle begins again. Proving once and for all that this is just about some people having a hard time and resenting those who are doing better than they are. Taxes may go up a little but it won't be much and definitely not enough to justify all your whiny rhetoric. I'm looking forward to it because you crackpots are annoying.
Now we have to hold his feet to the fire and make sure he goes after the Banksters. Also I think we need to rise up if he starts making deals with the devil (Republicons and corporations). We need to go after the people with the money if we are ever going to have a decent country again for our kids.
They had just better get used to Obama for the next 5 years and then another Democrat after that. Now if we can only take back the House and get a super majority in the Senate we might progress.
by Thinkbeforeyouwrite January 25, 2012 10:04 PM EST We had much higher tax rates on the wealthy years ago and no one thought it was unfair or "class warfare" or socialism. Those who got a lot were expected to be taxed a lot. I did not hear screams from the wealthy back then. They had it good and they knew it. What the hell has happened to that attitude __________________________________________________________________
Won't happen on this planet. There is NO tax increase that would actually pass into law that would do anything to solve the deficit. None. Therefore, since that's out of the question, what IS the goal of raising taxes on the rich? Will it temper government spending? Yeah right, try the opposite. To fund more entitlement programs? OK, so we become a nanny state, supporting a bunch of freeloaders. And don't give me that "Economic Equality" BS. That's just envy. There's no universal law giving us the right to Economic Equality. And there is no economic model that has delivered it either.
No, I don't think this call for raising taxes is anything more than sour grapes by people who resent the success of others. It has more traction these days because of the economy, but I don't see that it solves anything. If you all squawked as loudly about government spending as you do about the other guy who has more than you do, we'd be a lot farther along.
You have it wrong buddy. People about whom Pres Obama was referring to aren't jealous or envious of the wealth of others. We all want a level playing field, but you and your rich cohorts want to pay less taxes so that others can pick up what you guys refuse to pay. You and others like you love welfare so long as it is flowing in your direction, and your repulsican buddies in Congress want to shrink the middle class until we no longer exist. You guys would be happy living in a third world country where only two classes exist: the rich and the very poor. You and the repugnant repulsicans want the USA to become a third world country. Well that's not going to happen .I'm glad Pres Obama finally called you guys out in his very public speech last night.
90% of American are responsible for only 30% of Federal Tax revenue. The top 10% of earners contribute 70% of all Federal Tax revenue, with the top 1% contributing half of that number. How much more of the bill would you like the top 10% to pick up? Those numbers come from the IRS btw. It sounds like you've been listening to a little too much liberal/Socialist talk radio. Try thinking and researching for yourself. While you're at it, show me an economic model that has delivered "equality" and "a level playing field", whatever that is. There is no universal right that says the field is supposed to be level. Stop crying about where you're at expecting others to pay your way and hold yourself accountable.
We did not ask for the Top 1% to ruin our economy, dump our jobs, gut public education and services and declare Class War but they did. They want to pay less taxes while the 99% pays for them to rape and pillage the earth.
Call Occupy any names you want but the majority knows they are 1,000% right. And we of the 99% are with them.
noloyal, OWS is the most misguided, uninformed and uneducated movement in history. If you ever took the time to research actual numbers at the IRS, you would know that for every piddly little dollar you pay in taxes, a top 10%'er is paying $4.40. They also pay a higher average effective tax rate than someone in the top 25-50% income bracket (or those who earn $33k - $67K). This is a fact and not an opinion, unless you want to dispute IRS stats collected from actual 2009 and 2010 tax returns.
Hopefully you and your friends, who gobble up the propaganda being spoonfed to you by Socialist activists, will learn to exercise some personal initiative and research the numbers yourself. The math isn't difficult.
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I listened to the President Obama's third State of the Union Address, and I have come to the conclusion that he is a schizophrenic. He talked about everyone playing by the same rules, after giving out $100s of billions of taxpayer dollars to corporations of his choice while allowing other businesses to fend for themselves. He talked about reducing federal regulations on business, after burying American businesses under increased regulations contained in his disastrous health care law, He talked about national unity, after he has divided Americans and pitted one group of Americans against another for three years. He announced that "America is back", after burying the nation under deficit spending like no other President in American history. He announced "no more bailouts", after being the king of bailouts. He talked about energy independence, after stopping a oil pipeline that would have made American less dependent on middle-eastern oil and would have created more than 20,000 jobs. I have never heard a more twisted, muddled, and conflicted speech in all my life.
30 years ago I could train a monkey to do data entry or flip a burger. Is that same monkey supposed to be earning 300% more today to do the same thing I trained him for 30 years ago? Definitely not. And the one doing data entry should be grateful I don't buy a speech to text converter and make him obsolete.
60% think Obama did and EXCELLENT job on the speech
14% think Obama did a Good job on the speech
All of you who think Obama is unelectable can think long and hard about that 74%
OBAMA 2012 : )
We had much higher tax rates on the wealthy years ago and no one thought it was unfair or "class warfare" or socialism. Those who got a lot were expected to be taxed a lot. I did not hear screams from the wealthy back then. They had it good and they knew it. What the hell has happened to that attitude
__________________________________________________________________
Won't happen on this planet. There is NO tax increase that would actually pass into law that would do anything to solve the deficit. None. Therefore, since that's out of the question, what IS the goal of raising taxes on the rich? Will it temper government spending? Yeah right, try the opposite. To fund more entitlement programs? OK, so we become a nanny state, supporting a bunch of freeloaders. And don't give me that "Economic Equality" BS. That's just envy. There's no universal law giving us the right to Economic Equality. And there is no economic model that has delivered it either.
No, I don't think this call for raising taxes is anything more than sour grapes by people who resent the success of others. It has more traction these days because of the economy, but I don't see that it solves anything. If you all squawked as loudly about government spending as you do about the other guy who has more than you do, we'd be a lot farther along.
.I'm glad Pres Obama finally called you guys out in his very public speech last night.
Call Occupy any names you want but the majority knows they are 1,000% right. And we of the 99% are with them.
Hopefully you and your friends, who gobble up the propaganda being spoonfed to you by Socialist activists, will learn to exercise some personal initiative and research the numbers yourself. The math isn't difficult.