Return of the real Obama

WASHINGTON -- The rout was complete, the retreat disorderly. President Obama got his tax hikes -- naked of spending cuts -- passed by the ostensibly Republican House of Representatives. After which, you might expect him to pivot to his self-proclaimed "principle" of fiscal "balance" by taking the lead on reducing spending. "Why," asked The Washington Post on the eve of the final "fiscal-cliff" agreement, "is the nation's leader not embracing and then explaining the balanced reforms the nation needs?"

Charles Krauthammer

January 7, 2013