taxes taxes taxes

I think it helped Obama win that he assured people he was not going to raise taxes on the middle class. If I had been in his position I would have been tempted to say, Read my lips -- no new taxes. But he's a cool character and not so easily tempted to grand gestures. McCain sure was. But that's another story. Four years from now new taxes to the middle class will kill a re-election bid. The other thing to expect is that the Repulicans will blame Obama for any continued economic woes. How can Democrats stave off this eventuality? We need to consider that we may need to raise taxes a little in order to fix this economic mess. Either that or we better hope that Obama and the legislature can get as much done in a progressive, humane, and green manner as possible before the Party of Paranoia takes back the reins in 2012.

There is little reason to think that an Obama administration will share the fate of Clinton in 1992. It's not political deja vu all over again. Clinton did not win a majority of the popular vote. And this Congress is riding in on the Obama wave of optimism. They will be beholden to him in a way the entrenched Congress Clinton came into was not. That is a big deal. Also, I doubt Obama will make the kinds of early mistakes Clinton did in '92. I don't think he will hand off health care reform to his wife -- nothing against Hillary Clinton, but how likely is it she was the best person for that very specialist kind of job? It was, however, classic Bill.

twl