Topic: CNSNews.com
A Feb. 23 CNSNews.com article by Matt Cover takes out of context a statement by President Obama regarding the Bush tax cuts to make it appear as if he plans to institute "massive tax increases" on Americans.
Cover writes:
During the presidential campaign, then-Sen. Barack Obama pledged to repeal the tax cuts.
"I want to eliminate the Bush tax cuts," Obama told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in a May 2008 interview.
But Cover fails to detail the full context of Obama statement, in which he makes it clear he plans to restore tax cuts elsewhere. From the May 11, 2008, edition of CNN's" Late Edition":
BLITZER: So, you want to just eliminate the Bush tax cuts?
OBAMA: I want to eliminate the Bush tax cuts. And what I have said is, I will institute a middle-class tax cut. So, if you're making $75,000, if you're making $50,000 a year, you will see an extra $1,000 a year offsetting on your payroll tax.
BLITZER: Define middle class.
OBAMA: Well, look, I think that the definitions are always a little bit rough, but if you're making $100,000 a year or less, then you're pretty solidly middle class, and you deserve relief right now, as opposed to paying higher taxes. But people who are making over $200,000 or $250,000 have benefited the most from economic growth.
Indeed, nowhere in his article does Cover mention the fact that Obama has proposed cutting taxes for 95 percent of working families.
It's irresponsible of Cover and CNS to pluck Obama's statements out of context without telling the full story.
