Obama Undercuts Long Running Conservative Theme of Being the Taxing Socialist

Obama Feeds GOP

Today Obama put political expediency above long term prudence by temporarily extending the Bush tax cuts for all Americans, wealthy and otherwise, for another two years. He did manage to get some of what he wanted, which was the extension of unemployment for out of work citizens. But both major components of the compromise agreement rather ignore the national debt issue.

Progressives and fidgety Democrats (those farthest on the left) will see this as a moral and intellectual lapse, with Obama being bullied into concessions. Frank Rich of the New York Times pushed this theme, and Paul Krugman has added his voice to those saying that President Obama needs to say "no" and not be timid.

Part of the problem is that the left has not really taken Obama's writings to heart. He is a problem solver, and not the defiant Moses leading the left to some promised land. They, like many, were blinded by his color. There is an assumption among the left that if anyone is likely to be rigidly left wing, it will be the black voter, the black candidate, the black elected official. Sure you will have a black Republican here and there (Uncle Tom, cough cough), but 90% of blacks know what needs to be done and had better darn do it. And it must be consistently lefty.

Obama is not sticking to script, and the anger is palpable. We know there are masses on the right who dislike him, who call him socialist, and who will disregard every rather centrist element of his policies, like his tax cutting. They will make up untruths to hate about him. The darn Kenyan Socialist Liar. That's called racism.

But there are those on the left too who are enraged and angry, and ready for him to be challenged in 2012 because he did not do what they imagined he, the black president, should do. He did not come down hard on Wall Street or bankers (contrary to their huffing and puffing). He did not push for a single payer system in his health care reform efforts. He has not fought hard on the social issues liberals hold dear. That he named two women to the Supreme Court, one Hispanic, is not enough because he is not doing the exact bidding of those who backed him.

In actuality, he is not their "boy". He is his own man. Every step of the way he has calculated in his mind what might be the best, right now, for the middle American. Step by step he has pushed forward legislation that makes incremental improvements.

By extending the Bush tax cuts for another two years, he is making sure that he has another four years to continue his work. He knows well that if he lets the cuts expire, that action will be twisted into a story of the socialist president raising taxes on everyone. He also knows the left will not vocally protect him on this charge, because they are too busy stewing over the loss of the everything they never would have gotten in any real universe.

Come election time, nobody in their right mind, or cognizant of truth, will be able to play out the long running lie that Obama has raised taxes. That theme has been dominant in conservative circles since forever, and when pressed the liars revert to, "Well he will, when he raises taxes at the end of year." No amount of clarifying the nature of Bush's temporary tax cuts will break through the wall of blindness that lets his detractors see a return to a norm as a whole new tax.

In time Obama's judgment will win out. The problem with his calculation is that is kicks the can down the road for two years. However, that's not entirely bad. What it also does is force the coming presidential campaign to be about real choices and how to reduce the deficit, and Obama won't be clipped by those alluding to him as a tax raiser and socialist.