POLITICO.COM : House approves Obama Tax Cuts Extension, 277-to-148 vote - Obama is a pragmatist, not an ideologue, personally comfortable with being able to engage Republicans and not be divisive, Obama selling himself

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Obama is laser-focused in creating jobs as fast as he possibly can, and he realizes there’s only a limited amount of time to accomplish that before the next election. This bill of Tax Cuts Extension and Unemployed Benefits Extension can help a lot to accomplish that objective.

POLITICO.COM
Obama makes the sale
By GLENN THRUSH
Decenber 17, 2010

Obama makes the sale


Some excerpts :

Yet for all that drama, Obama closed the most impressive sales job of his presidency a few minutes before the clock struck midnight on Thursday — winning House approval of a broadly popular tax-cut and unemployment extension opposed by the extremes of both parties.

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“He’s done a damn good job selling, as good as anything he’s ever sold,” Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.), said with a chuckle, a few hours before the measure headed to Obama’s desk after passing with a 277-to-148 vote.

“My problem is trying to figure out exactly what he’s selling.”

In a word: himself.

While admitting the deal itself is profoundly flawed, Obama nonetheless achieved a moment at least of bipartisanship with Republicans, persuaded Democrats to accept diminished expectations and went a long way toward rebranding himself as Obama Classic — the circa-2008 politician at war with partisan discord.

“What you are seeing now is what he always wanted to be,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), a longtime Obama ally. “In his heart, he’s a pragmatist, not an ideologue, and he’s a lot more personally comfortable with being able to engage Republicans and not be as divisive.”

And he’s not done. There’s at least the possibility that Obama will achieve two other victories with the cooperation of the GOP: passage of the New START treaty and repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” ban on gays serving openly in the military.

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — who recently claimed his goal was to deny Obama a second term — reportedly reacted with disgust when he read Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer’s recent suggestion that he oppose the package because it would lower unemployment “and easily be the difference between victory and defeat in 2012.”

Said one person close to McConnell: “We’re not going to bet against the economy. If it helps Obama, so be it. We’ll do it. Who gives a s--t?”

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