Defiant Obama Defends His Tax Deal

With his tax-cut compromise catching heavy flak from within his own party, President Obama today sought to make the case that he had no choice. "My job is to do what's right for the American people," he said at an afternoon news conference. He stressed that "middle-class Americans" won't see a tax increase and that 2 million people won't see their jobless benefits cut off, reports AP. "This isn't an abstract debate," he said. "This is real money for real people and it will make a real difference."

Obama sounded defiant at times: "Take a tally. Look at what I promised during the campaign. There's not a single thing that I haven't done or tried to do." He made his appeal as Democrats continued to voice their displeasure, notes the Wall Street Journal. Nancy Pelosi said the estate-tax plan in particular adds "insult to injury," complaining that it would help "America's richest families" while adding to the deficit. (She did, however, say the middle-class tax cuts would create jobs.) Said Democratic Congressman Bill Pascrell of New Jersey: "They got him to blink first, and many of us are very dubious about that." (More President Obama stories.)