President Barack Obama could have been accused of saddling taxpayers with a bill for a swing-state re-election tour that included three fundraisers surrounding a policy speech in front of about 3,500 Florida Atlantic University students.
Nevertheless, taxpayers paid for a presidential policy visit in which the cheering crowd was introduced to such Obama mainstays as the Buffett Rule, requiring millionaires or billionaires (like Warren Buffett) to pay the same taxes as middle-class families do and we cant stop investing in things that help create the middle class.
At a microphone beneath a banner proclaiming An America Built to Last, the president Tuesday described a debate taking place in this country between some unnamed folks in Washington -- presumably including Democrats -- who want to keep the United States a place where a shrinking number are doing very well, versus those -- possibly including Republicans, though he didn't say -- who think the country is better off when everyone has a fair shot.
Thats what the debate is about right now, Obama said near the beginning of the half-hour speech. The choice could not be clearer.
What could have been a little clearer was how quoting Abraham Lincoln (Through our government we should do together what we dont do as well for ourselves), before launching into a litany of public expenses, qualified as a policy speech eligible for more public financing versus a simple regurgitation of themes Democrats have been flogging since the shellacking of 2010.
Together, we build this safety net, the policy-maker continued. This is not some socialist dream.
Its just a way to make up for the failed efforts we tried for eight years before I took office, Obama said, omitting any reference to the three years that have passed since he entered the White House.
And still, for some reason, some people -- more unnamed folks in Washington -- dont get it: Folks (who) dont seem to understand how it is America got built.
Those folks, Obama said, think things like weaker regulation and converting investments into tax cuts -- especially for the wealthy -- is the way to rebuild the economy after the downturn of 2008-2012.
Theyre doubling down on their broken-down theories, Obama proclaimed.
But theyre not going to get away with it, he assured the crowd. That wouldnt be part of his policy, which includes protecting financial aid for college (big cheer from the college crowd), grants for medical research and our investments in clean energy that are reducing our dependence on foreign oil.
Which, eventually, brought him back to the policy known as the Buffett Rule, requiring a minimum tax rate of 30 percent on those with annual incomes of more than $1 million. The rule isnt included in budgets proposed by House Republicans, but Obama has a policy for that, too.
Call Congress, the millionaire policy-maker urged his audience. Tell congressmen, Dont give tax breaks to folks like me ... Remind them of who they work for.
Not surprisingly, Republicans were not amused.
The candidate who ran for hope and change has now become the president of divide and deceive, U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Bartlett told The Miami Herald before Obamas speech, criticizing Obama for staging the FAU/Boca Raton speech simply as a way to make the trip billable to taxpayers instead of his re-election campaign.
At the last minute they threw [the FAU speech] in to justify getting taxpayers to pay for it, Diaz-Balart said.
Reach Joe Saunders at jsaunders@sunshinestatenews.com, or at (850) 727-0859.
