I was half watching President Obama’s remarks on the debt ceiling talks, delivered in advance of meeting with Republican leaders today. He says he is “prepared to take on significant heat” from his own party and base to strike a deal. And then he told a big fib, declaring that “nobody is talking about increasing taxes” before discussing closing “loopholes” on corporate jet owners and others. Closing a “loophole” amounts to increasing taxes, and in the case of corporate jet owners, the man who flies around in Air Force One, which he and the First Lady used to fly to New York for a date night, and whose campaign bought him a sweet jet in 2008, probably isn’t in the best position to slam corporate jet owners.
Obama also said that Washington probably won’t get anything done on the debt as long as we have divided government. He’s right; we have a chance to fix that problem next year.
Update: After I hit publish, President Obama said it’s time for Washington to “eat our peas” and do a budget deal. We’re getting two themes from this administration lately: Telling us what to eat, and what to move ourselves around in.
I don’t know about y’all, but when I was a kid I had to put English peas between two thick slices of bread just to get them down. That admonition does nothing at all to motivate me.
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