Bob Woodward’s new book on the collapse of the grand bargain has put
the Obama White House on the defensive on economic policy just as the
2012 campaign enters its most crucial phase.
Republicans have seized on The Price of Politics as evidence President Obama is in over his head on the economy.
The White House on Monday pushed back against Woodward’s latest conclusions: that weak leadership by Obama worsened last year’s debt-ceiling crisis and led to the failure to enact a deficit grand bargain.
Obama’s leadership during the crisis was “significant,” according to White House spokesman Jay Carney, and reflected a “sincere and deliberate” effort to compromise.
Carney said that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) showed he was “willing to compromise” during secret debt talks with Obama last summer, but that “unfortunately, throughout that process ... House Republicans walked away.”
“The president fought hard for a grand bargain. ... At the end, the Speaker looked over his shoulder and found there was no one behind him,” Carney said.
Boehner’s office countered that Woodward’s book shows Obama “lost his courage” when it came time to strike a deal.
“The book confirms previous reporting about how the Speaker, majority leader and the president had a framework of a deal on tax and entitlement reform, and then the president moved the goalposts and lost his courage. Presidents have a responsibility to lead, and this president has failed the test of leadership when it comes to creating jobs and addressing our debt crisis,” Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith said in a statement.
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/248477-white-house-pushes-back-against-woodward-book
Republicans have seized on The Price of Politics as evidence President Obama is in over his head on the economy.
The White House on Monday pushed back against Woodward’s latest conclusions: that weak leadership by Obama worsened last year’s debt-ceiling crisis and led to the failure to enact a deficit grand bargain.
Obama’s leadership during the crisis was “significant,” according to White House spokesman Jay Carney, and reflected a “sincere and deliberate” effort to compromise.
Carney said that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) showed he was “willing to compromise” during secret debt talks with Obama last summer, but that “unfortunately, throughout that process ... House Republicans walked away.”
“The president fought hard for a grand bargain. ... At the end, the Speaker looked over his shoulder and found there was no one behind him,” Carney said.
Boehner’s office countered that Woodward’s book shows Obama “lost his courage” when it came time to strike a deal.
“The book confirms previous reporting about how the Speaker, majority leader and the president had a framework of a deal on tax and entitlement reform, and then the president moved the goalposts and lost his courage. Presidents have a responsibility to lead, and this president has failed the test of leadership when it comes to creating jobs and addressing our debt crisis,” Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith said in a statement.
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/248477-white-house-pushes-back-against-woodward-book
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