Now, he's made tough choices in the past in negotiations like these.
As Mr. Cheney recounted in his American Enterprise Institute speech, the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11 was an extraordinarily challenging time in which the George W. Bush administration made tough choices from the bunker that kept the country safe from a repeat attack on American soil.
And we made some tough choices that were necessary to make it succeed.
WHITEHOUSE: Remarks by the President at Detroit Labor Day Event
But again, the President has made some tough choices about how to put ourselves back on a path towards fiscal sustainability.
As the number two Republican in the Senate, he made the tough choices necessary to close deficits and he played an important role in bipartisan deficit reduction agreements.
WHITEHOUSE: Encouraging Long-Term Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
But the President -- that's why the President made some tough choices, certainly, to bring that number down over the course of cutting the deficit in half in four years.
And tough choices had to be made, unpopular choices had to be made, and the President made them.
There were tough choices made by both sides in that potential agreement that was not reached, and we did not get that done.
And he would have done this regardless because he believes -- not the deal itself, because in an ideal world I made clear that there were tough choices he would not otherwise want to have to make.
But he has also said, as he did in the aftermath of the election to you, that he understands that tough choices need to be made and he's, as he has demonstrated, willing to make them.
He is willing to make tough choices and he has made clear and specified the spending cuts that he is willing to make, and he has said that he is willing to go further as part of a broader deficit reduction plan.
Prof Tim Benton from the University of Leeds says that tough choices may have to be made.
And in this proposal and others, he has made clear in great specificity the kinds of tough choices he's willing to make.
He has also made clear that we have to make some tough choices in order to get our deficits and debt under control.
So it involved tough choices, and he has made his case and will continue to make his case for why he thinks it was the right thing to do.
Every participant in the negotiations that were held here is aware of what is required to get there and the compromises and tough choices that need to be made to get there.
The truth is, the reason it worked is because of some very tough choices that many of you made, but the ability to work across state lines and party lines to try to get people focused not just on the past but also on the future.
So what we have made clear is we -- the President will make tough choices.
I'm not going to be able to mobilize the country around some of the tough, necessary choices that need to be made unless we've got the kind of grassroots support at every level that you guys so vividly displayed back in 2008.
WHITEHOUSE: Remarks by the President at a DNC Event in Washington, DC
Unfortunately, he was and Democratic leaders were willing to make those tough choices on their side and, unfortunately, on the other side the decision was made to walk away.
The reason is because when we reform Wall Street, when we tackle the problem of preexisting conditions -- these are tough problems and we've got to make choices -- and the choices we've made have been ones that ultimately are benefiting middle-class families all across the country.
The stuff that he has made clear he is willing to do requires him to get outside of his comfort zone, requires Democrats to make tough choices that they would not otherwise want to have to make.
应用推荐