Obama: Master Negotiator Against Himself

One of the first rules in labor negotiations is never to negotiate against yourself.  So if your goal is to get a dollar an hour raise, you don't start at a dollar, then negotiate down from there.  Likewise, if you are buying a car, you don't offer the dealer the asking price on the car.  You offer less.  Anyone who has bought a car understands this principle.  For some reason, however, President Obama does not get this concept.  From health care to the current tax bill, Obama starts in the middle, and then slowly works his way towards the Republicans. 

This is what is perhaps so infuriating to liberals who Obama (as well as Fox News) have been slamming for criticising the tax deal.  On health care, Obama quickly dropped the public option, and instead crafted a deal that, in the end, every single Republican opposed anyway.  Health care then became a campaign issue for Republicans who called it socialism.  If your enemies are going to oppose you at all costs, and if you are going to get tarred a socialist, shouldn't you at least craft legislation that is a little more "socialist?"

Likewise the tax cuts.  What did Obama get in return for caving in to the Republican demand that the wealthiest in this country suffer  no tax increases?  Not a lot.  He got a thirteen week extension of unemployment benefits -- keep in mind that there has never been opposition to federal unemployment benefit extentions when the unemployment rate was this high.  He got a cut in payroll taxes, but only on the employee side of the ledger -- and as one columnist pointed out, cutting payroll taxes and starving Social Security has long been a right-wing dream.  The payroll tax cut is also a benefit not enjoyed by state and federal workers, who don't pay into Social Security.  He also got some tax breaks for investments.  As Paul Krugman points out, how did Democrats get to the point that they have to plead with Republicans for tax cuts?

I'm not an economist, so I'm not sure whether the tax package is good or bad policy.  I do know that Obama needs to stop negotiating against himself if he has wants to have any hope of controlling the next Republican Congress.