Disregard the stupidity uttered by White House Jay Carney in this clip about how President Obama is leading by not “propsing a plan” to reduce the deficit and raise the debt ceiling. Pay attention to reporter Jake Tapper’s question: ….the ‘Gang of Seven’ plan… it is not clear that that can pass the House….”
Who are the Gang of Seven exactly?
Wasn’t there a bipartisan group of six senators — Republicans Tom Coburn, Saxby Chambliss and Mike Crapo, Democrats Mark Warner, Dick Durbin and Kent Conrad — who negotiated the $3.7 trillion deal?
Well, yes, as a matter of fact it was those six senators who did the negotiating. But when President Obama appeared before reporters earlier yesterday to “endorse” the compromise proposal he called them a “Gang of six … or I guess now seven with one Republican Senator added on…”
Obama was, it seems, referring to Sen. Lamar Alexander who had earlier endorsed his colleagues’ proposal. But here’s the thing, Alexander didn’t negotiate the deal. On the other hand it helps Obama look good if he’s supporting a plan negotiated by more Republicans than Democrats. OK give him points for taking an opportunity to paint himself in a good light.
But what are the reporters in the room, not an hour later, doing parroting the President’s formulation?
And what for heaven’s sake are reporters doing not jumping on the President for supporting a plan that his own deficit and debt commission proposed almost a year ago and that Obama then let die a painful death.
Just watch out, Pbama is going to start talking about how the House has already voted for the Gang of six plan when it supported the debt and deficit commission report. He hated it last December but now that he’s getting some of what he wants and can pin it on Republicans and Democrats he didn’t hire to solve the problem, he’s going to be all for it.