THE IRRITATED AMERICAN Updating the old carrot & stick routine . . . introducing the new Carrot Gun. President Obama tonight is set to chat to the American people and by proxy to advance his machinations to manipulate the ticking and tocking of the governmental clock to extract what he wants from both corners of the playing field. From Republicans the man wants acquiescence to levy a tax on the wealthiest Americans so that he can sprinkle some monetary magic dust into the wallets of middle class Americans in the form of benefits and tax breaks. $320 Billion, to be precise--this is what he is looking to peel out of the wealthiest individuals as well as the biggest and most financially sound, heavily leveraged financial companies ( by closing tax loopholes), over the course of ten years. This is of course a plan that was at first murmur dead and rotting and volunteered by Repubs to be sent directly into the ground bypassing the morgue as far as they are concerned. Never in a thousand years, is essentially the answer. Not so fast, gents, is--essentially--the answer Mr. Obama will diplomatically unspool tonight, before the eyes and the ears of the universe. Undoubtedly the best chance that the President has to engage the entire country all at one time and all in one place--friends and foes and noncommittals alike--Mr. Obama has embroidered the evening with a carrot-stick tactical arrangement that he hopes, by speaking directly to the people who need the tax breaks the most, the hurting middle class, will be at least contemplated sincerely. The carrot on offer of course is the prospect of full presidential support of the Trans Pacific Partnership, or TPP, which is a landmark trade pact with Japan and 10 other Pacific countries which is energetically supported by Republicans, but opposed completely by the President's own Democratic party. Thus, the president is pushing for trade promotion authority--known as Fast Tracking--which will enable him to get it done without the pact being saddled with contingencies, amendments and procedural delays. With the Republicans desperately wanting this trade pact to pass, and with the certainty that it won't without Presidential support . . . and with Republicans also desperate to appear in total support of any effort to come to the assistance of a staggering middle class, the president may just have Republicans exactly where he needs them to get this through: ninety degrees angled in proximity to a barrel. The script reads something as follows: "I'll piss off my party and my labor unions with your wealth-inducing trade agreement, which in the end may just balance out the $320 Bil bill I want to slap on those wealthy folks who will benefit most from the pact . . . so yes although it is true it will piss off Republicans to get hit with $320 huge-ones over a decade, they will beyond doubt reap a windfall from this pact. No pain, no gain. This goes for all sides." Let's see what kind of ending we actually wind up with. Hollywood or Washington? Preston Clive 1/20/2014***