Not So Newsy News Conference

       President Obama held a news conference.  And newsy it was.  He has already cut the deficit by 2.5 trillion dollars.  I am so relieved.  Not! 

The president assured the press club that he had done everything in his power to resolve the Sequester problem but that the recalcitrant Republicans refuse to have a serious discussion. He has offered serious spending cuts. “I’ve made a deal with certain numbers,”

       But he has not.  He has said he is willing to cut if the Republicans agree to more tax increases, but he has specified absolutely no cuts of his own.  He says he is willing to take on entitlement reform if the Republicans agree to more tax increases, but he has not offered a single entitlement reform plan. He confessed to the press club that he didn’t “want to make himself perfectly clear,” and that is true on a myriad of issues and certainly on the budget issue.  It was perhaps the only honest statement he made today.

       No.  That’s not true.  He did report that the Boehner had offered to cut tax loopholes two months ago, and that it true.  What he doesn’t tell you is that Boehner traded that deal for the biggest tax hike in 20 years and a promise to cut spending. President Obama has not, and will not offer a deal until the Republicans cave on more tax hikes, and I hope to God they will not.  Republicans have played Charlie Brown way to often on that empty promise.

       CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jessica Yellin smiled so charmingly as she asked the president why he didn’t just refuse to allow the Republicans to leave the room before they made a deal.  How cute was that?  Perhaps she should have asked why the Republicans didn’t refuse to let the President get on Air Force 1 yet again and again for another campaign trip unless he and the Democrats offered a serious deal. We’ve been waiting three years for them to propose a plan.

       He assured the press club that, setting aside the budget problems, he is making progress with congress.  They have passed the Violence Against Women Act. (Now I don’t know what that was all about, but I think we have thousands of laws regarding violence muddying up the congressional record as it is.)  

       He boasts that he is making progress with gun laws (most or all of which are unconstitutional), and is working on immigration legislation (his attempt to block Marco Rubio’s excellent proposal and destroy the possibility of resolving the problem.  It’s obvious the president doesn’t really want immigration reform.  He’s beholding to the unions.  He just wants to create a bluster and trick the Hispanics into further solidifying their vote.)

           He does have high hopes, however, that the Republicans will get over their partisan snit and kneel to kiss his ring.