In the final question of today’s press conference, President Obama was asked by Jonathan Weisman of the Wall Street Journal how he would respond to Democrats who think he’s compromised too much in agreeing on a two-year extension of all the Bush-era tax cuts — even for the wealthiest Americans — and that they have a hard time figuring out his core principles on what issues he would go to the mat for. Obama then responded forcefully, saying that the positions of such people on the left would result in getting nothing done, except having a “sanctimonious” pride in the purity of their own positions.
The president compared current complaints from progressives to sparring over health care reform, saying that “this is the public option debate all over again.” Then, Obama said, while he was able to pass reform Democrats had fought for for a century, they instead viewed it as “weakness and compromise” that there was no public option. “Now, if that’s the standard by which we are measuring success or core principles, then let’s face it, we will never get anything done.”
“This is a big, diverse country,” Obama also said. “Not everybody agrees with us. I know that shocks people.”
“This country was founded on compromise. I couldn’t go through the front door of this country’s founding,” he later added. “And you know, if we were really thinking about ideal positions, we wouldn’t have a Union.”
[TPM SLIDESHOW: Progressives Gather For One Nation Under Blue Skies]
Towards the end, he declared: “I don’t think there’s a single Democrat out there, who if they looked at where we started when I came into office and look at where we are now, would say that somehow we have not moved in the direction that I promised. Take a tally, look at what I promised during the campaign. There’s not a single thing that I said that I would do that I have not either done or tried to do. And if I have not gotten it done yet, I’m still trying to do it.”
Wow. Is will.i.am going to be turning this speech into a hit Web music video any time soon?
With respect to the bottom line, in terms of what my core principles are, yeah look, I’ve got a bunch of lines in the sand. Not making tax cuts for the wealthy permanent, that was a line in the sand. Making sure that the things that most impact middle-class families and low income families, that those were preserved, that is a line in the sand. I would not have agreed to a deal, which, by the way some in Congress were talking about, of just a two-year extension on the Bush tax cuts and one year of unemployment insurance, but meanwhile all the other provisions of earned income tax credit or other important breaks for middle class families, like the college tax credit, that those had gone away, just because they had Obama’s name attached to them instead of Bush’s name attached to them.
So this notion that somehow we are willing to compromise too much reminds me of the debate that we had during health care. This is the public option debate all over again. So I pass a signature piece of legislation where we finally get health care for all Americans, something that Democrats had been fighting for, for a hundred years – but because there was a provision in there that they didn’t get, that would have affected maybe a couple million people, even though we got health insurance for 30 million people, and the potential for lower premiums for a hundred million people, that somehow that was a sign of weakness and compromise.Now, if that’s the standard by which we are measuring success or core principles, then let’s face it, we will never get anything done. People will have the satisfaction of having a purist position, and no victories for the American people. And we will be able to feel good about ourselves, and sanctimonious about how pure our intensions are and how tough we are. And in the meantime the American people are still seeing themselves not able to get health insurance because of a pre-existing condition, or not being able to pay their bills because their unemployment insurance ran out. That can’t be the measure of how we think about our public service. That can’t be the measure of what it means to be a Democrat.
This is a big, diverse country. Not everybody agrees with us. I know that shocks people. You know, the New York Times editorial page does not permeate across all of America – neither does the Wall Street Journal editorial page. Most Americans, they’re just trying to figure out how to go about their lives, and how can we make sure that our elected officials are looking out for us? And that means because it’s a big, diverse country, and people have a lot of complicated positions, it means that in order to get stuff done we’re gonna compromise.
This is why FDR, when he started Social Security, it only affected widows and orphans. You did not qualify. And yet now it is something that really helps a lot of people. When Medicare started it was a small program, it grew. Under the criteria that you just set out, each of those were betrayals of some abstract ideal.
This country was founded on compromise. I couldn’t go through the front door of this country’s founding. And you know if we were really thinking about ideal positions, we wouldn’t have a Union.
And so, my job is to make sure that we have a North Star out there – what is helping the American people live out of their lives? You know what is giving them more opportunity, what is growing the economy, what is making us more competitive. And at any given juncture there’re gonna be times where my preferred option, what I’m absolutely positive is right, I can’t get done. And so then my question is, does it make sense for me to tack a little bit this way, or tack a little bit that way, because I’m keeping my eye on the long term, and the long fight, not my day to day news cycle, but where am I going over the long term?
And I don’t think there’s a single Democrat out there, who if they looked at where we started when I came into office and look at where we are now, would say that somehow we have not moved in the direction that I promised. Take a tally, look at what I promised during the campaign. There’s not a single thing that I said that I would do that I have not either done or tried to do. And if I have not gotten it done yet, I’m still trying to do it.
And so, to my Democratic friends, what I’d suggest is, let’s make sure that we understand this is a long game, this is not a short game.
And to my Republican friends, I would suggest, I think this is a good agreement, because I know they’re swallowing some things that they don’t like as well, and I’m looking forward to seeing them on the field of competition over the next two years.
