Obama surrenders leadership

President Obama can try to call this terrible mistake and complete abandonment of leadership "a compromise" if he wants to. But it isn't a compromise. It is a complete and disgraceful capitulation to the failed policies of the Bush administration, policies that led to the economic mess we're in today. The Republicans claim they want to reduce the deficit. But they lie and their latest demands to protect their rich benefactors proves it. I'm not sure our economy can weather the massive increase to the deficit this agreement will cause.Not only that, with this victory, the Republicans will be demanding and probably obtaining more such concessions from a White House that has given up on its principles and decided it no longer wants to display any signs of leadership.

It's not so much extending the Bush tax cuts that is the major concern. It's Obama's terrible decision to draconian reductions in the estate tax, reductions that are even higher than the ones his predecessor wanted. Obama says he agreed to this "compromise" to aid middle-income Americans. But he, too, lies. Middle income Americans don't have estate taxes to pay. And the rate of estate taxes don't have anything to do with job creation. This move was nothing more than the President caving in to the demands of Arizona's Republican  Senator John Kyl who irresponsibly held our nation's security hostage by blocking a vote on the New Start arms control treaty until he got his way on the estate taxes. Instead of giving up on doing the right thing, the President should have exposed Kyl's duplicity to the entire country.

Obama claims the tax reductions are only for two years and in 2012 he'll be able to make a case to the American electorate that it was the wrong thing to do. I'm wondering why can't he make that case now. If it's wrong in 2012, it's wrong in 2010.