Leadership on the Bonus Question

Let me make a short comment on the 90% surtax that the House of Representatives passed yesterday on bonuses paid to employees who earn more than $250,000 from companies receiving $5 billion from the government’s financial rescue program. I am not going to go into the stupidity of it. That is obvious. I just wanted to say that you find out who your leaders are when dumb policy and smart politics align. We didn’t have many leaders in the House of Representatives yesterday.

I might also note that the President is not going to get a chapter in the next edition of Profiles in Courage with the mealy-mouthed statement that was issued on his behalf. As The Wall Street Journal reported this morning: "President Barack Obama issued a statement that aides said was intentionally lukewarm. In it, he said the House vote ‘rightly reflects the outrage that so many feel’ over the bonuses, but it didn't mention the substance of the bill." That’s real leadership.