Political Ruminations

Morning Quote: Jay Carney

Obama Press Secretary Jay Carney (press gaggle June 6) on raising tax rates on upper-income Americans:

“ President Clinton, in 1993 -- and I'm old enough to say this from experience because I covered him -- passed a budget plan that included raising rates on upper-income Americans. At the time, Republicans in the House and the Senate, including the very leaders that we have today, decried that budget plan as one that would cause a recession, economic decline, increase deficits, all the worst possible outcomes. What happened? The longest peacetime expansion in American history, 22 million jobs, and a situation where the middle class saw its incomes rise, not just for the wealthiest Americans.

Let's fast-forward to the eight years prior to President Obama taking office. Those same Republican leaders supported policies that led to a situation where the record surpluses that President Clinton bequeathed on his successor were transformed into record deficits when President Obama took office. The prescription that the Republicans put forward has been tried and it was a woeful failure. ”

Carney also pointed out that the president does not support the extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent, saying that President Obama “will not extend ... the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent.” When a reporter continued to press him on the issue of a short-term extension, Carney responded, “He will not -- could I be more clear? -- he will not support extension of the upper-income Bush tax cuts.”

Morning Quote: Jay Carney

Press Secretary Jay Carney offers some advice to reporters on Air Force One:

“ I simply make the point, as an editor might say, to check it out; do not buy into the BS that you hear about spending and fiscal constraint with regard to this administration. I think doing so is a sign of sloth and laziness.”

Mr. Carney is right, and in fact, he very much understated the problem with our media. Meanwhile, in his column on Huffpost, Bob Cesca, puts the lie to the right wing claim that President Obama is a tax and spend liberal.