Obama: I Won't Extend Bush Tax Cuts for Rich. Period.

'Could I be more clear?' asks Jay Carney
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 6, 2012 3:20 PM CDT
Obama: I Won't Extend Bush Tax Cuts for Rich. Period.
President Obama speaks in New York on June 4.   (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Bill Clinton may have said the Bush tax cuts should be extended for the wealthy, but the White House is adamant it won't happen, reports Politico. Asked aboard Air Force One whether the president would sign such an extension, spokesman Jay Carney responded: "He will not. Could I be more clear? He will not support an extension of the upper-income Bush tax cuts. He could not be more clear." It has kind of a read-my-lips feel to it, and, in fact, the Huffington Post has been running it under a prominent headline with exactly those words today.

Meanwhile, congressional Republicans have been making political hay of Clinton's comments all day, notes the Hill. “Extending all the current tax rates for at least a year is really important if we’re going to help job creators and give them more confidence to put Americans back to work,” said House Speaker John Boehner. “Even Bill Clinton came out for it—before he was against it.” Clinton has since clarified that he thinks extending the cuts for the richest Americans is a bad idea. (More Bush tax cuts stories.)

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