President Obama, want to save your approval rating? Eliminate tax breaks
By Evan Thomas,
WashPost
Updated: Monday, August 15, 10:30 AM
With the president’s approval rating sinking below 40 percent for the first time, this week’s On Leadership roundtable explores Obama’s wavering leadership and how he could steady it—with opinion pieces by former Congressman Mickey Edwards, journalist Evan Thomas, public opinion polling expert Peter Hart, and Harvard Professor Nancy Koehn.
There is an appealing model of presidential leadership where one has low-key, behind the scenes, confident control of the political system. Dwight Eisenhower ran the government that way in the peaceful and prosperous 1950s. And at times, President Obama seems to wish he could lead in the Eisenhower manner. But he can't. The times are different, and Obama is not the same sort of leader as Eisenhower, a war hero whose approval rating averaged well over 60 percent.
Inevitably, perhaps, President Obama has become entangled with Washington politics, caught up in its fractious mud-fighting. He tries to distance himself from the squabbling, but he mostly appears to be vexed and scolding. He needs a way to break free, a way to show that he is a true leader who can transcend beltway-cable TV politics. To be sure, it is hard for incumbent presidents to campaign as reformers—in effect, to stand apart from the government they run. Still, Obama needs to find a way to rise above, and in a credible fashion that promises real change.
That chance to reclaim his leadership credibility? Taxes. Both Republicans and Democrats have begun to call for tax reform that would lower tax rates while raising additional revenue by eliminating tax breaks and loopholes. The plans advanced are all woefully complex, however, and invite endless battles against individual interest groups—the equivalent of political house-to-house combat. Obama needs to cut through the morass and offer a straightforward, easy-to-understand solution with broad popular appeal.
(More here.)
WashPost
Updated: Monday, August 15, 10:30 AM
With the president’s approval rating sinking below 40 percent for the first time, this week’s On Leadership roundtable explores Obama’s wavering leadership and how he could steady it—with opinion pieces by former Congressman Mickey Edwards, journalist Evan Thomas, public opinion polling expert Peter Hart, and Harvard Professor Nancy Koehn.
There is an appealing model of presidential leadership where one has low-key, behind the scenes, confident control of the political system. Dwight Eisenhower ran the government that way in the peaceful and prosperous 1950s. And at times, President Obama seems to wish he could lead in the Eisenhower manner. But he can't. The times are different, and Obama is not the same sort of leader as Eisenhower, a war hero whose approval rating averaged well over 60 percent.
Inevitably, perhaps, President Obama has become entangled with Washington politics, caught up in its fractious mud-fighting. He tries to distance himself from the squabbling, but he mostly appears to be vexed and scolding. He needs a way to break free, a way to show that he is a true leader who can transcend beltway-cable TV politics. To be sure, it is hard for incumbent presidents to campaign as reformers—in effect, to stand apart from the government they run. Still, Obama needs to find a way to rise above, and in a credible fashion that promises real change.
That chance to reclaim his leadership credibility? Taxes. Both Republicans and Democrats have begun to call for tax reform that would lower tax rates while raising additional revenue by eliminating tax breaks and loopholes. The plans advanced are all woefully complex, however, and invite endless battles against individual interest groups—the equivalent of political house-to-house combat. Obama needs to cut through the morass and offer a straightforward, easy-to-understand solution with broad popular appeal.
(More here.)
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1 Comments:
Oh man, if Evan Thomas thinks the most pressing issue facing Americans is tax breaks, Obama may as well resign. Talk about missing the boat.
I don't disagree that we should eliminate tax breaks. In fact, we need a flat tax with no deductions so that everyone is paying their fair share, but Thomas misses the boat entirely. Tax breaks equates to 'revenues'. Americans aren't fed up that Washington doesn't have enough tax revenue. In fact, the same tax rates just four years ago were bringing in $2.7T to the treasury. April 2007 saw the largest one month take by the federal government in US History - over $384B. Americans are fed up by the spending which has done nothing but squander the nations wealth. How many times does Obama have to be wrong before we start asking are his policies working? No, people like Evan Thomas and Paul Krugman think we haven't spent enough that if only we spent MORE, THEN things will turn around.
There is a narrow slice of psychopaths in the media who believe that line of complete bullshit. The rest of America has determined the problem is runaway federal government spending. Obama just keeps blaming anything and everything except himself for the calamity of the economy that his policies have only exascerbated. Just today, Obama announced another plan to grow jobs that he will unveil after Congress reconvenes in September. Oh great! Another grand plan short on specifics from the most transparent adminstration in history.
Americans are just riding the storm out until November 2012 when we'll get the chance to reverse the mistake that is the Carter - oops, I mean Obama - presidency. And November 2012 can't come soon enough.
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