You watch -- in Nov, Truthiness will prevail.
Dems just can't play this game.

Wait, shouldn't that read "convicted felon Conrad Black has a new NR piece", or is it a different Conrad Black?

That a convicted fraudster should be accusing the President of the United States of misleading the American people, well, it strains credulity.

"A reasonable and somewhat consensual health-care bill is available if he wants it."

I can't imagine what he's thinking of.

Black said: i>President Obama claimed to have "cut the taxes of 95 percent of Americans"

If Obama had said that, it would be untrue. But Obama said 95% of *working families* - only 65% of Americans over 16 *work*, and could therefore benefit from a reduction in payroll taxes.

Disingenuous, stupid reactionaries are being disingenuous stupid reactionaries for the benefit of their stupid, reactionary readership?! ALERT THE INTERNET! STOP THE PRESSES!

Two billionth verse, same as the first. With links for traffic!

Contrast this with some of the earlier Bush tax cuts. Bush delayed them in order to be able to send out checks directly. Great PR, but not so great as stimulus (I may be wrong on the dates, but this is probably in the mild recession in 2001). Most of those rebates could have been done by direct deposit at a much lower expense, but then, of course, there wouldn't have been a check with W's name on it. So, once again, an adult/Democrat does what is right, rather than what gets the best publicity. Too bad the press keeps people ignorant of this fact.

It's just not the 'conservative media' .......IT'S THE ENTIRE CORPORATE MEDIA this is responsible for people not knowing

I second biggerbox's point.

I work for a small company that does Payroll software. Customers were calling for weeks after we rolled in the new tax tables in March of last year. All of the sudden people were bitching about paying to LITTLE in taxes. I got a call this morning, because we rolled in the new tables in January, because people are now paying normal taxes and think they got tax increase.

All in all, unless they can prove this extra cash got into the economy and stimulated things, public relations wise this was a bad idea. Not to mention the loss in revenues.

So thats what that little increase in my take home pay was. I should pay more attention.

Well, Black would know a little about the fine art of straining credulity. When did he get out of the can anyway?

I wish I had read Ian's comment before I posted. I think our two comments tie together.

conrad black is a god damn thief, a criminal, and a rotten piece of shit.

we dont need conrad black's slimy prose to conjure up some bullshit strained credulity -- harold meyerson, a decent chap, a smart man, and a compassionate progressive does just fine showing today's Dims (including Obaama) as spineless, uncompassionate, and lacking in ideas and creativity. harld does just fine showing how doomed we are by our Dim masters...regardless of the god damn tax rate...

In this case though, people are doing their taxes right now, so they can see that the taxes are actually being cut. I realized that when I did my taxes.
I think the dems should do more noise about these tax cuts because they are real and significant. Not only the 400/800$ but the credit for education is very important too.

NR, doing their bit to rehabilitate the forgotten man:

http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=Conrad&Middle=&LastName=Black&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=29&y=12

Correct: the ($400/$800) tax cut in question is the "Making Work Pay" credit. One of the talking points floating around the conservative blogs is that President Obama's proposed budget calls for extending it through 2011 but ending it in 2012. And some conservatives are incorrectly calling that a tax increase.

Obviously, if you cut people's taxes temporarily, that isn't a tax increase when the cut expires: it simply restores the rate to what it once was.

When Reagan did this in the '80s, EVERYONE knew they got a little more in their take-home pay. Because he talked about it all the time, and so did Republicans. It wasn't much, but everyone noticed.

Now? The Obama administration made the cuts (part of the stimulus package), and they didn't make a big deal about it. No congressional Dems did, either. So what happens? No one knows, no one understands that Obama put a little more money into your pocket last year.

Why they don't tout their accomplishments more escapes me. And when they do, the media let people like Black get away with saying it's not true. AAARGH.

I'm right behind ya, Molly.

This is one of those "perception is reality" moments. Dem have to realize that most people don't scrutinize the withholdings on their paychecks and the small difference goes under the radar.

That's why you have to publicly promote these changes and develop public awareness.

Now the Obama administration has to involve itself in a "yeah, but . . ." argument.

We're winning the policy war, but losing the PR battle.

Having already done my taxes for this year, I don't know where the $800 for working couples figure is coming from. Our taxes were only $68 less for this year than they would have been last year for the exact same taxable income.

And the IRS screwed up big time in readjusting the deduction tables. I lot of people are about to be very surprised at how much they owe.

Psst National Review, I noticed. My paycheck was larger.

I don't think Black has access to the proper research facilities anymore...

It's like what Obama said about the frequency of filibusters (an earlier thread) -- it doesn't *sound* right, so you check and, and by golly, who'd'a thunk it? But, by the time it's been checked (*if* it gets checked) and the truth has been pushed out, people' interest has already shifted to something else and, besides, it doesn't sound nearly as fascinating, so... Only the original slam -- Obama lies! -- remains in people's memory.

It's sad, but Dems aren't very good at political theatre. They're the ants to the Repubs' grasshoppers. But its a wrong attitude; "All work, no play" and you know what happens :)

Facts are simple and facts are straight
Facts are lazy and facts are late
Facts all come with points of view
Facts don't do what I want them to

Facts just twist the truth around
Facts are living turned inside out
Facts are getting the best of them
Facts are nothing on the face of things

"Either way, facts are stubborn things."

Not to Republicans. Surely you've noticed that by their own admission, they "make their own reality"? Living in the factual world is not in line with their political goals, so they choose an alternate reality to push that is more amendable in supporting their BS.

I don't think "credulity" means what Lord Black thinks it means.

That would be the same Conrad Black who is currently incarcerated at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Florida serving a 6 1/2 year sentence for mail fraud and obstruction of justice.

He's writing from his prison cell. But National Review still promotes him as a credible spokesman for the modern conservative movement. Ha!

Conrad Black! Who's next -- Jeff Skilling? Since when are felons pundits?

It brings about a puzzle.

Why do the Republicans so much mileage out of their promises of tax cuts.

You'd think they would stop sounding so great after 8 years of them and no significant impact on people's finances.

Why does that phrase hold such strong currency given the minimal benefits?

Wake up, people. There was a change in tax withholdings, not taxes. We will all owe the same amount as before come April 15; we've just paid down less of it than if the administration had not pulled this trick.