In his second press conference on the proposal in as many days, Obama for the first time pushed back against fellow Democrats angry that he agreed to the Republican position that the Bush-era tax cuts should be extended for all income levels and not capped at $250,000, as the president had previously pledged to do.
If I vote for this, it will not be silently; it will be being dragged to this position.
- Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Still, many congressional Democrats remained less than swayed Tuesday evening.
Obama called the compromise package "a good deal for the American people." But the president also said he had little choice but to agree to the Republicans' terms to avoid endangering struggling Americans dependent on the tax breaks and unemployment benefits.
"It's tempting not to negotiate with hostage takers — unless the hostage gets harmed," he said of his talks with Republicans. "In this case, the hostage was the American people, and I was not willing to see them get harmed.''
"I don't think there's a single Democrat out there who, if they look at where we started when I came into office and look at where we are now, would say that somehow we have not moved in the direction that I promised," Obama said.
"Take a tally. Look at what I promised during the campaign. There's not a single thing that I've said that I would do that I have not either done or tried to do. And if I haven't gotten it done yet, I'm still trying to do it."
Obama pledged to take up the fight again in 2012 when the tax cuts would expire under the new deal. He reiterated that he still opposes the Republican position that high-income earners should get the extension, delivering this message to "my Republican friends": "I'm looking forward to seeing them on the field of competition over the next two years."
