President Obama holds his American Jobs Act as he speaks in Denver on September 27, 2011. And no matter how many times Mr. Obama repeats the lie that his “is the kind of proposal that’s been supported by both Democrats and Republicans,” it will be House Republicans who write a bill that can actually pass the Senate. Obama’s revised strategy came into full focus in a fiery speech last month in which he laid out a $450 billion plan clearly aimed at generating middle-class jobs while targeting millionaires and big business for tax hikes. It’s a hard sell for lawmakers if they pass the bill, which would raise taxes by $467 billion on wealthier Americans and corporations.
– Is President Obama facing a revolt from his Democratic generals? Nancy Pelosi certainly doesn’t seem happy. She offered a surprisingly blunt critique of the president and his team recently, buried within this Howard Kurtz Newsweek piece on Obama’s newfound populist punch. “I think you need to talk about how poorly they do on message,” Pelosi grouses. “They can’t see around corners; they anticipate nothing." Rumor has it that Harry Reid isn’t happy, either. Take this one with a grain of salt, but conservative Washington Times columnist Joseph Curl writes today that there’s a “story making the rounds in Washington” that Reid and Obama have been on the outs ever since Obama, in a secret meeting, nixed a debt ceiling deal that both the House and Senate thought could pass. “I’m not going to do anything for that [expletive] again,” Reid is rumored to have declared afterward. Curl does not cite any sources.