The one about the tax cuts for the rich so that we can all finally get jobs. It's not terrible, given possible alternatives. For instance, it's better than zero percent taxes for the rich and obligatory labor camps for the poor. It's better than a nuclear attack on Iran. It's better than me in this mood I have right now.
But it's still a very odd compromise from a Democratic administration and Senate and House still possessing Democratic majorities. How odd it is can be seen from the fact that these are the reactions from the right:
And these are the reactions from the left:
Republican leaders, clearly relishing the upper hand they have held in the tax fight, reacted positively to Mr. Obama's announcement on Monday night.
A spokesman for the House Republican leader, and soon-to-be speaker, John A. Boehner, called the president's announcement "encouraging." And in a statement, the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, praised the administration's "openness to preventing tax hikes."
Obama sounds kinda like a Republican president, don't you think?
Even before meeting formally with their caucuses, senior Democratic leaders were signaling their deep displeasure with the White House at the moment, and earlier in the day, leadership aides said it would be largely up to the White House to sell the deal. They also said that it would be mainly up to Republican leaders to deliver the votes needed to approve the package.
This new definition of a "compromise" is a most unusual one. For instance, the Republicans got concessions on inheritance tax so that someone being left 5,000,001 dollars gets to pay a federal inheritance tax totaling 35 cents. That was exchanged for what part of the package? And when did we discuss this in the open? It may have slipped past me, what with all the other compromises I've tried to understand.
I must admit I'm about ready to give up on political blogging.