Promoted from the diaries by Jeff.

Is “make up your mind” really all that much to ask of President Obama?

Evidently so. At yesterday’s townhall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Obama’s oft-repeated “money line” was that tax raises are “painful” and unneccessary, and that tax cuts were awesome.

Take, for example, the following quotes from the transcript, accompanied with video.

Tax cuts are awesome:

That’s why we acted as fast as we could to pass a Recovery Act that would stop the freefall. And I want to make sure everybody understands what we did.

One-third of the money in the Recovery Act went to tax cuts that have already started showing up in the paychecks of about 500,000 working families in New Hampshire — (applause) — 500,000 families in New Hampshire. We also cut taxes for small businesses on the investments that they make, and over 300 New Hampshire small businesses have qualified for new loans backed by the Recovery Act.

Tax increases are bad:

Now, that was a third — that was a third of the Recovery Act. Another third of the money in the Recovery Act is for emergency relief for folks who’ve borne the brunt of this recession. So we’ve extended unemployment benefits for 20,000 New Hampshire residents. (Applause.)

We’ve made health insurance 65 percent cheaper for families who rely on COBRA while they’re looking for work. (Applause.) And for states that were facing historic budget shortfalls, we provided assistance that has saved the jobs of tens of thousands of workers who provided essential services — like teachers and police officers. (Applause.) So it’s prevented a lot of painful cuts in the state, but also a lot of painful state and local tax increases.

Taxpayers should “try to get the best deal possible” on drugs:

The important thing about the story that you just told me was — is that once it was determined that, in fact, you needed the brand name, you were able to get the brand name. Now, I want to be absolutely clear here: There are going to be instances where if there is really strong scientific evidence that the generic and the brand name work just as well, and the brand name costs twice as much, that the taxpayer should try to get the best deal possible, as long as if it turns out that the generic doesn’t work as well, you’re able to get the brand name.

So the basic principle that we want to set up here is that — if you’re in private insurance, first of all, your private insurance can do whatever you want. If you’re under a government program, then it makes sense for us to make sure that we’re getting the best deal possible and not just giving drug makers or insurers more money than they should be getting. But ultimately, you’ve got to be able to get the best care based on what the doctor says.

I think you’re getting Obama’s point (judging from what he’s saying here, at least): taxes are bad, bad bad.

Or maybe that’s not what he meant at all.

Halfway through the meeting, Obama decided he didn’t want to roll with this anymore.  Out of nowhere, he pulled a full 180-degree turn, and ran off in the other direction.  Now: tax cuts are satanic!  Now he wants to “roll back Bush tax cuts” to pay for the public option:

I said very specifically I thought we should roll back Bush tax cuts and use them to pay for health insurance. That’s what I’m intending to do. All right? (Applause.)

It’s kind of hard to take him at his word, as he has beseeched the American people to do, when he can’t decide what his word is, precisely.

But, just so we’re clear (or, if you prefer, “Let me be clear”): his tax cuts are acts of genius.  Bush’s tax cuts were insignificant little things that really have to go.

Only at an Obama town hall is rolling back tax cuts greeted with thunderous applause and expressions of blithe satisfaction from the audience.

Cross-posted at The Minority Report.