Obama Views Cutting Medicare As Good Politics

Chris Cillizza writes that President Barack Obama caving in on Medicare will rob Democrats of a valuable campaign issue. Obama couldn't care less about the prospects of other Democrats.

This was the Biden talks were all about. Obama will blame the Republicans for the entitlement cuts. Just like he did with extending the Bush tax cuts for top earners. This is what he worked his life to achieve. Rep. Marion Berry pointed out that Obama expected Democrats to support him. Obama said they need not worry because his appeal will magically rub off.

Berry recounted meetings with White House officials, reminiscent of some during the Clinton days, where he and others urged them not to force Blue Dogs “off into that swamp” of supporting bills that would be unpopular with voters back home.

“I’ve been doing that with this White House, and they just don’t seem to give it any credibility at all,” Berry said. “They just kept telling us how good it was going to be. The president himself, when that was brought up in one group, said, ‘Well, the big difference here and in ’94 was you’ve got me.’ We’re going to see how much difference that makes now.” [snip]

“I began to preach last January that we had already seen this movie and we didn’t want to see it again because we know how it comes out,” said Arkansas’ 1st District congressman, who worked in the Clinton administration before being elected to the House in 1996... "I just began to have flashbacks to 1993 and ’94. No one that was here in ’94, or at the day after the election felt like. It certainly wasn’t a good feeling.”

The main reason that Blue Dogs lose is they forget to follow Harry Truman's warning. "Given the choice between a Republican and someone who acts like a Republican," President Harry Truman said. "People will vote for the real Republican all the time." Berry's story does illustrate how little Obama worries about the political prospects of the Democratic caucuses. Obama ideologically wants to cut Medicare and Social Security. Obama's political adviser David Plouffe said American don't cast their votes based on unemployment or poor GDP growth.

“The average American does not view the economy through the prism of GDP or unemployment rates or even monthly jobs numbers,” Plouffe said. “People won’t vote based on the unemployment rate, they’re going to vote based on: ‘How do I feel about my own situation? Do I believe the president makes decisions based on me and my family?’”

Team Obama think like Republicans on economic and political matters. This is why Obama views protecting Medicare as a political loser.