By Nicholas Johnston and Kate Andersen Brower
Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Former President Bill Clinton sought to use his clout with Democratic lawmakers to get President Barack Obama"s tax deal with Republicans passed over the objections of lawmakers in his own party.
SThis is a good bill, Clinton said about the compromise agreement Obama reached with congressional Republicans to extend tax cuts and unemployment benefits beyond this year.
Standing alongside Obama after the two men met private in the Oval Office Dec. 10, Clinton called the deal a Ssignificant net plus. Still, he said he understands the resistance from congressional Democrats to keeping Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and to an estate-tax provision that would set the top rate at 35 percent after a $5 million tax-free allowance per individual.
Clinton stood at the podium of the White House briefing room during an unscheduled question-and-answer-session with reporters, making clear he was enjoying the experience. After Obama left about 10 minutes into the session, Clinton stayed on for 20 more.
Asked whether he was happier being in the White House giving advice rather than governing, Clinton drew laughter with his reply.
SOh, I had quite a good time governing, he said. SI"m happy to be here, I suppose, when the bullets that are fired are unlikely to hit me.
Taxes and Treaty
Clinton said the benefits of the 13-month extension of unemployment aid for the long-term jobless and the one-year cut in payroll taxes and tax breaks for small businesses have been overlooked in Obama"s plan. He also voiced his support for the ratification of a new arms control treaty with Russia by the end of the year. The office of Republican Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, key to approval of the START agreement by his party, says the Senate will have enough votes to ratify the treaty.
SI think this START agreement is very important to the future of our national security, Clinton said. SThis is something that is profoundly important, this ought to be way beyond party.
Obama, 49, invited Clinton, 64, to the White House several weeks ago, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters earlier yesterday. The meeting was Obama"s first with Clinton since last month"s congressional elections when Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives and saw their majority narrowed in the Senate. Clinton faced a similar setback in the 1994 mid-term elections and went on to win a second term as president.
Spokesman for Deal
Obama called the meeting with the former president Sterrific. He introduced Clinton by saying that he is a good spokesman for the deal and Sgiven the fact that he presided over as good an economy as we"ve seen in our lifetimes that it might be useful for him to share some of his thoughts.
Relations between Obama and Clinton have warmed since the end of the 2008 Democratic presidential primary campaign, in which Obama"s chief rival for the party"s nomination was Clinton"s wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Clinton was a prominent campaigner for his wife, and was publicly rebuked by Obama for once accusing Obama"s campaign of playing Sthe race card on me.
Following the election, Hillary Clinton joined the Obama administration as chief diplomat and has sought Bill Clinton"s help on issues from North Korea to earthquake relief in Haiti.
The former president was also one of the top campaigners for Democratic congressional candidates during last month"s mid- term elections, though Democrats lost seats in the Senate and their House majority.
Relief for America"
SGiven all of the alternatives that I have imagined actually becoming law this is the best economic result for America, Clinton said. SI think it is an enormous relief for America to think that both parties might vote for something, anything, that they could both agree on.
House Democrats held a nonbinding vote Thursday to prevent the tax compromise from being voted on in the House of Representatives unless changes are made.
The Senate will take up the estimated $857 billion proposal next week.
Like Obama, Clinton said he opposes an extension of tax cuts for wealthy Americans because that would Snot be the most efficient way to get the economy going again, though their inclusion is needed to gain the support of Senate Republicans.
Clinton called compromise an Sethical thing to do, though he said there are certain things that are worth fighting for, including fighting against the repeal of the health-care overhaul and the repeal of new financial rules.
In a final push for the tax deal, Clinton said in a divided government Speople no longer see principled compromise as weakness.
He said, Sthis system was set up to promote principled compromise.
--Editors: Joe Sobczyk, Ann Hughey.
To contact the reporters on this story: Nicholas Johnston in Washington at njohnston3@bloomberg.net; Kate Andersen Brower in Washington at kandersen7@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Silva at msilva34@bloomberg.net
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