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WORLD> America
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Obama to critics: I'll bend, but not break
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-03-25 21:02 WASHINGTON – With Congress pushing back against his proposals for energy, taxes and other matters, President Barack Obama is taking a bend-but-don't-break posture.
He will compromise on certain details if he must, he signaled at his news conference Tuesday evening, but not on the heart of his key initiatives. His strategic retreats are a nod to political reality. He is angling to avoid confrontations he probably can't win, but to sacrifice no more than is absolutely necessary.
"When it comes to cap and trade," the president said, using the proposal's nickname, "the broader principle is that we've got to move to a new energy era. And that means moving away from polluting energy sources towards cleaner energy sources." "I think cap and trade is the best way," Obama said, but he stopped well short of insisting on it. He did not retreat on contentious issues on which he holds the upper hand. Lifting a federal ban on embryonic stem cell research, he said, was the "right thing to do" despite criticisms from various quarters. Asked why he hasn't asked Americans to do more to weather the economic crisis, he said, "I think folks are sacrificing left and right." Obama was less certain and dismissive on topics in which he faces potentially bruising battles with Congress. For example, he minimized a Senate leader's proposal to end Obama's signature tax cut for most working families after 2010. "When it comes to the middle-class tax cut," the president said, "we know that that's going to be in place for at least the next two years." "If Congress has better ideas in terms of how to pay for it, then we're happy to listen," he said. Obama said the main thrust of his massive budget proposal is moving the nation in the right direction to turn around the ailing economy. "This budget is inseparable from this recovery," he said, "because it is what lays the foundation for a secure and lasting prosperity." He said he expects "serious efforts at health care reform," but not lawmakers' approval of every proposal in his $3.6 trillion budget. "We never expected, when we printed out our budget, that they would simply Xerox it and vote on it," he said. Obama used the 55-minute news conference's last question, on Middle East peace efforts, to summarize his strategy of pressing his main goals while letting critics nibble at the margins if they must. |
