During last year’s debt ceiling debate, President Barack Obama and Congress agreed to a series of automatic budget cuts that would transpire at the end of the year. The idea was that the cuts were so undesirable that Washington would certainly prevent them. New Year’s Day came and the cuts—known as “sequestration”—were kicked down the road to March.
When that deadline had passed, the president had to sign the cuts into effect. Before he did so, however, he gave a press conference during which he said, “It's happening because of a choice that Republicans in Congress have made.” He clearly blamed the GOP.
In fact, the president had said, “The sequester is not something that I’ve proposed.” In other words, it wasn’t his idea. The net message: sequestration was a GOP idea and it’s their fault.
Shortly before the sequester deadline, renowned journalist Bob Woodward penned an editorial in which he revealed that sequestration was originally a White House proposal. Woodward cited his own book, “The Price of Politics,” that a White House aide proposed the sequester Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate Minority Leader.
Later, Woodward claimed that the White House had threatened him, and immediately thereafter, center-left commentators quickly moved to discredit Woodward.
Apparently, the White House official who threatened Woodward was economic czar Gene Sperling. But on Sunday, Sperling admitted on “Meet the Press” that it was, indeed, the White House that had originally proposed the sequester.
Of course, the admission came after the deadline had passed and after the political effect had set in.
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