tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post6338061266249267328..comments2024-03-10T09:24:45.565+02:00Comments on Dispatches from Vilnius: The Price of PoliticsJames Fergusonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-38677002148177839962012-12-22T15:48:32.755+02:002012-12-22T15:48:32.755+02:00It just amazes me that Woodward had the audacity t...It just amazes me that Woodward had the audacity to thrust the blame on Obama for the breakdown in talks in 2011. He put quite an offering on the table -- a $4 tril defecit reduction plan that included over 80% in domestic cuts and still the Republicans rejected this and offered a $1 tril deficit reduction plan in its place. The compromise was $2 tril in domestic cuts offered by half-baked Harry James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-85963914910912753802012-12-22T15:44:55.237+02:002012-12-22T15:44:55.237+02:00Hard to imagine it getting any worse. I think Boe...Hard to imagine it getting any worse. I think Boehner has just come to the realization that you have to compromise to get anything. Cantor is too dense to have figured that out.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-73130480365389248772012-12-22T14:41:45.237+02:002012-12-22T14:41:45.237+02:00I believed in 2011 and I still believe that Eric C...I believed in 2011 and I still believe that Eric Cantor's designs on the speakership are driving at least part of the GOP's intansigence. If he ever became speaker, however, it seems to me things would only get worse for the nation. Maybe Boehner is like the boy with his finger in the dyke. Apres moi le deluge.Rick Diguettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09556088192579865532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-7891568690625350702012-12-22T12:56:51.337+02:002012-12-22T12:56:51.337+02:00For all of Woodward's balderdash, it seems it ...For all of Woodward's balderdash, it seems it is Boehner who looks like the novice right now, not Obama.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-9804364757272462692012-09-17T10:11:21.427+03:002012-09-17T10:11:21.427+03:00Shapiro has fun with Woodward's "brand&qu...Shapiro has fun with Woodward's "brand" of "inside-the-White-House" reporting,<br /><br />"The problem with Woodward’s fixation on the Oval Office and the GOP congressional leadership is it leads to a lack of journalistic skepticism about the lasting importance of the story he’s telling. The failed 2011 budget negotiations will never be an epic historical marker like James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-70715381636127146602012-09-13T23:41:20.823+03:002012-09-13T23:41:20.823+03:00That's how I feel as well. Obama certainly ma...That's how I feel as well. Obama certainly made plenty of overtures and his deficit reduction plan was very accommodating to Republicans but they refused to budge. I got the impression that Boehner was determined to make Obama look bad. However, Woodward seems to think that Obama just didn't want to play the game.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-60591386997449462092012-09-13T22:36:59.475+03:002012-09-13T22:36:59.475+03:00I too saw Woodward on Charlie Rose. I have a probl...I too saw Woodward on Charlie Rose. I have a problem with Woodward's argument that the President needs to "impose" his will on Congress. Charlie Rose pressed him on that point. I understand Woodward’s contention that it’s the President’s responsibility to lead but how does the President strike a deal with an obstinate Congress whose stated legislative priority is make Obama a Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-23314860685664713522012-09-13T22:10:59.674+03:002012-09-13T22:10:59.674+03:00Heard Woodward on Charlie Rose the other night. V...Heard Woodward on Charlie Rose the other night. Very disappointed. He seemed to view Obama as a political novice in the debt ceiling debates, giving must of the credit to Biden for negotiating a deal with McConnell at the last minute. It was my impression that Harry Reid was the main force behind the compromise from what I read in the news, but then Woodward might be privy to more info. He James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.com