ENLIGT VISSA uppgifter blev president Barack Obama så arg vid onsdagens förhandlingar om budgetunderskottet att han stormade ut från ett möte med House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
En kritik som ofta framförs mot Obama är att han visar för lite känslor – att han är alltför intellektuell och distanserad. Detta även när den enda rimliga reaktionen är att just visa känslor.
Vem som tjänar mest på denna historia kan därför diskuteras. Vad som verkligen hände vid mötet är oavsett vilket inte det lättaste att reda ut.
Michael D. Shear, på bloggen The Caucus, skriver:
Like most important dramas in Washington, the brief but tense back-and-forth between Mr. Cantor and Mr. Obama took place behind closed doors. But in typical Washington fashion, the participants quickly began sketching out a script as soon as it was over.
What happened, exactly, depends on which version of that script one reads. Each is loaded with political spin that aims to portray its side in the best light possible. But both versions suggest that the search for a reasonable middle ground before the Aug. 2 deadline will be increasingly difficult.
Shear pusselläggning har gett två versioner – en från demokraterna och en från republikanerna. Sam Stein, The Huffington Post, sammanfattning tangerar Sheers:
According to multiple sources, disagreements surfaced early, in the middle and at the end of the nearly two-hour talks. At issue was Cantor’s repeated push to do a short-term resolution and Obama’s insistence that he would not accept one.
”Eric, don’t call my bluff. I’m going to the American people on this,” the president said, according to both Cantor and another attendee. ”This process is confirming what the American people think is the worst about Washington: that everyone is more interested in posturing, political positioning, and protecting their base, than in resolving real problems.”
Cantor, speaking to reporters after the meeting, said that the president ”abruptly” walked off after offering his scolding.
”I know why he lost his temper. He’s frustrated. We’re all frustrated,” the Virginia Republican said.
Democratic officials had a different interpretation. ”The meeting ended with Cantor being dressed down while sitting in silence,” one official said in an email. ”[The president] said Cantor could not have it both ways of insisting on dollar-for-dollar and still not being open to revenues.”
the Campaign Dossier 