President Barack Obama is not ready to accept a new offer from the Republican leader of the U.S. the House of Representatives to raise taxes on top earners in exchange for major cuts in entitlement programs, a source said late Saturday.
The shape and details of Boehner's offer were uncertain Saturday night, as was the exact reason the president was prepared to reject it.
The source said Obama sees the offer made on Friday by U.S. House Speaker John Boehner as a sign of progress, but simply believes it is not enough and there is much more to be worked out before Obama can reciprocate.
Boehner has cracked on raising tax rates now. The question is now "on whom?"
Republicans have privately spoken of coming back at Obama with a threshold of $1 million. Obama has previously called that unacceptable because it would not raise enough money on its own to cut the deficit significantly or provide enough money to avert across-the-board spending cuts.
It's the Republicans who are being forced to move, because President Obama knew exactly what he was doing when he walked the GOP into this last year...a deal the GOP could never win, but took anyway. The President has outsmarted the GOP again, period.
And there's nothing the GOP can do but lose, gracefully or in their case, otherwise.
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