Obama continues blurring the line between the press and the White House.
(Howard Kurtz/Daily Beast) — The populist reincarnation of President Obama since Labor Day — with his stinging attacks on tax-coddled millionaires, corporate-jet owners, and oil companies — emerged from a moment of reflection during a summer of discontent.
For months after the Democrats’ “shellacking” last November, Obama resisted bashing corporate America and the GOP as he had done so effectively as the “hope and change” orator in 2008 and as a young president who pushed through Congress an $800 billion stimulus, a universal-health-care law, and sweeping Wall Street reform.
But by the end of June, with the nation teetering near the brink of default and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor walking away from negotiations over a debt deal, the president summoned his top aides for a frank assessment of how to get back on track.
Senior adviser David Plouffe told Obama it was time to “draw some lines in the sand” by launching an aggressive assault on tax breaks for corporate high fliers and hedge-fund managers.
The president was energized, saying such loopholes were “indefensible” while spending was being slashed and that “this is a public argument we can and should win.” He tested the message with reporters soon afterward.
HT: Drudge