Woodward's Price of Politics

On September 6, 2012 we heard about Bob Woodward’s Price of Politics book. Fox News said: Arrogant, aloof, and unprepared is how Bob Woodward portrays President Obama. The book recounts Obama’s troubled relationship with Congress, from his inauguration through last summer’s failed debt-limit negotiations, with Woodward concluding, “It is a fact that President Obama was handed a miserable, faltering economy and faced a recalcitrant Republican opposition. But presidents work their will - or should work their will - on important matters of national business...Obama has not.”

When Woodward spoke with ABC it’s brought out that Obama and Boehner tried to secretly strike a deal for a mix of $4 trillion in spending cuts and tax increases but the deal went haywire 12 days before the deadline when the President wanted $400 billion more tax increases on the rich. Boehner said “He wasn’t going to get another damn dime out of me, he knew how far out on a limb I was”. Boehner told reporters the talks were over and didn’t return the President’s calls. The President said “I was pretty angry. There’s no doubt I thought it was profoundly irresponsible at that stage not to call me back immediately and let me know what was going on. You see how crazy these people are, I understand him.” Woodward in his book said “It was increasingly clear that no one was running Washington. That was trouble for everyone but especially for Obama”. There were 2 young Republicans secretly meeting, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Paul Ryan called the intellectual heart of the Tea Party. With 3 days left Vice President Biden and Minority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell met and an agreement was reached 27 hours before the deadline; all of this was the status quo only worse. Woodward told ABC “If you look back at Reagan and Clinton they, by-in-large, worked their will,  this President did not”; smoozing, charming, calling and spending the night with your feet up does still play a part in our politics and opens the door to changing history, human relations matter. “You know, WW II was hard to win but President Roosevelt made sure that we won…and that’s what Presidents are there for and it depends on how you’re going to raise the bar and what your level of expectation is and I think the public should have the highest expectations of their leaders…the Republicans have been called a brick wall which they are and it’s really hard to get around them.” Bob Woodward can make whatever claims he wants but there’s more you need to know.