Sitting down with The Washington Post: “President-elect Barack Obama pledged yesterday to shape a new Social Security and Medicare ‘bargain’ with the American people, saying that the nation's long-term economic recovery cannot be attained unless the government finally gets control over its most costly entitlement programs,” the Post’s Michael Shear reports. “He said his administration will begin confronting the issues of entitlement reform and long-term budget deficits soon after it jump-starts job growth and the stock market.”
“This, by the way, is where there are going to be very difficult choices and issues of sacrifice and responsibility and duty,” Obama said, probably understating the case. “You have to have a president who is willing to spend some political capital on this. And I intend to spend some.” (Who’s the last president to boast of the political capital he was about to spend, and how did that turn out?)
(And will this cost him some allies? “The president-elect also gave his support for legislation that would make it easier for workers to unionize, but he said there may be other ways to achieve the same goal without angering businesses. And while many Democrats on Capitol Hill are eager to see a quick vote on that bill, he indicated no desire to rush into the contentious issue,” Shear writes. Said Obama: “If we're losing half a million jobs a month, then there are no jobs to unionize, so my focus first is on those key economic priority items I just mentioned. . . . Let's see what the legislative docket looks like.”)
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“President-elect Barack Obama's $825 billion plan to jump-start the economy and create or save up to 4 million jobs includes twice as much money for spending as for tax cuts, setting up an early battle with Republicans in Congress who favor a different approach,” USA Today’s Richard Wolf reports.
Who wants to reach out, again? “The House Democrats' inclusion of even fewer cuts than Obama had suggested is a sign they are less inclined to offer olive branches to the GOP. Indeed, some lawmakers in the party complained in closed-door discussions that the bill was too heavy on tax cuts and too light on infrastructure spending,” The Los Angeles Times' Janet Hook and Jim Puzzanghera write.
About that teamwork thing: “In a stark change from his position just three months ago, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who had suspended his presidential campaign to help pass the TARP program in the first place, also voted to block the funds,” per ABC’s Jonathan Karl.
It’s hard to miss the fault lines here. In his USA Today interview, “Obama said he was discussing with congressional leaders whether to seek repeal of the Bush tax cuts for families with annual incomes of $250,000 or more. He previously has indicated he would wait for them to lapse next year -- which would avoid an early battle with Republicans -- while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday repeated her vow to roll them back now.”
And might we see more? The committees haven’t even marked up the bills yet -- and then there’s floor action. “House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) warned Thursday that the Democrats’ newly unveiled $825 billion stimulus proposal may not be enough to stabilize the economy,” Roll Call’s Jennifer Bendery writes. Said Obey: “This product may in fact undershoot the mark.”