Here’s one of the juicier recent presidential tidbits. Obama is extremely desperate to pass the tax deal, if Rep. Peter DeFazio (D., Ore.) is to be believed. Appearing on CNN’s Parker Spitzer to discuss the tax deal, he said, “The White House is putting on tremendous pressure…the President’s making phone calls saying this is the end of his presidency if he doesn’t get this bad deal. I don’t feel that way. I think this is potentially the end of his possibility of getting reelected if he gets this deal. And it’s a trap.”
Kathleen Parker pressed him on who exactly said that. DeFazio demurred, and refused to reveal his source.
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor completely denied DeFazio’s story: “The president hasn’t said anything remotely like that and has never spoken with Mr. DeFazio about the issue,” he said. (Mr. DeFazio never claimed that he had heard it directly from the President.)