You might have heard that Barack Obama originally wanted his discussion with the Des Moines Register editorial board to be off the record. But the blowback was so toxic he said the hell with it, and the paper published the entire interview.
In the piece, the president is asked probably the biggest question that political analysts and Mitt Romney have been asking in recent weeks: What are his plans for the next four years?
Obama said he intends on getting what D.C. folks have described as a "grand bargain" done within the first six months of 2013 — a plan to reduce the deficit a la Simpson-Bowles, the debt reduction plan he rejected last year. Obama said his idea is "$2.50 worth of cuts for every dollar in spending, and work to reduce the costs of our health care programs."
One would believe that House Republicans, who've worked to stymie many of Obama's goals, would want to work with him in 2013 if in fact the American people re-elect him.
His second idea is to try to accomplish comprehensive immigration reform, something he never tried in his first term in office.
This article appears in Oct 25-31, 2012.