Reluctantly, after hearing that the President has once again caved in to the GOP in the name of “compromise”: saving one year of unemployment benefits for two years of Bush Tax Cuts for the rich, I tend to agree with Dan Rather…
Former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather says President Obama’s caught in a “political nightmare” over the likely extension of the Bush tax cuts for another two years.
Rather, speaking on MSNBC’s Jansing & Company said an extension of those cuts will infuriate the left and lead to a Democratic primary challenge against the president in 2012:
This is a political nightmare for Barack Obama as president. The more-left portion of his party hates this with a passion. And politically, within his own party, if this goes through, Barack Obama will be in a position to have his shirttail on fire, his back to the wall, and the bill collector at the door. Which is metaphorically a way of saying he’s almost guaranteed — if this goes through — to have a serious challenge in a Democratic primary for president in 2012.
Say what you will about Rather. You’ve gotta love those “Things are getting hotter than a Times Square Rolex” Ratherisms. But the “back against the wall, shirttails on fire” is a retread Rather first used with Al Gore during the 2000 Florida recount. (For a complete list of Ratherisms, including ever-popular “this race is shakier than cafeteria Jell-O,” go here.)
Rather says time is running out for Obama to restore his image among his own Democratic Party base, who are increasingly fed up:
The perception of [Obama] is that he won’t fight for anything… Many of the heavy contributors to the Democratic Party are beyond shock about this happening, and are saying to themselves, ‘This guy . . . has about four to six months to turn the perception of him and the party around or we’ve got to start thinking about somebody else in 2012.’
Related Articles
- Rather: Obama will face primary challenge if he caves on taxes (hotair.com)
- Challenge Obama from the Left in 2012 Not to Save His Presidency – but the Democratic Party Itself (firedoglake.com)
- Is Obama even worth saving? (capitolhillblue.com)
- Focusing on deficit a lose-lose move for Obama (cnn.com)
- Weakened Obama unveils tax compromise (alternet.org)
