President Obama easy mark on debt ceiling

By SCOTT KEYES
Politico.com
5/19/11 4:51 AM EDT

There’s a saying among old poker hands: “Play your opponent, not your cards.” Poker legend Doyle Brunson said he could win without even looking at his cards — his opponent’s reactions told him all he needed to know.

No one has learned this lesson in Washington better than House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). And in the past few months, nobody has played the mark better than President Barack Obama.

Now, as Democrats urge Congress to raise the debt ceiling without strings attached, and the GOP calls on Congress to do so only with significant spending cuts, Boehner knows one thing: Obama conceded defeat months ago. The president told him so at a Dec. 7 news conference.

A day after the deal had been reached to extend Bush-era tax cuts for two years, Obama took to the White House podium to explain why he would continue the very tax breaks he vigorously campaigned against.

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