That's not my line. That's a Reuters story released Sunday (and carried by the AP), bylined to Alister Bull, with the following lead paragraph:
"A senior Republican senator voiced confidence on Sunday that U.S. lawmakers would forge a deal on the year-end "fiscal cliff," while a top aide to President Barack Obama signaled a willingness to compromise over raising tax rates on the rich."
The senior Republican is Bob Corker (R-TN) on Fox News. The Obama is David Axelrod on Face the Nation. Axlerod is quoted as saying:
Top Obama aide David Axelrod, asked if it was possible to raise enough revenue to curb the deficit without increasing the top tax rate, praised the 'encouraging' remarks by Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, on the need to tackle the problem.Nothing in the quote attributed to Axelrod that says what Reuters says he said, that the President might compromise on tax rates for the wealthy.'Obviously, there is money to be gained by closing some of these loopholes and applying them to deficit reduction,' Axelrod told CBS's Face the Nation. 'So I think there are a lot of ways to skin this cat, so long as everybody comes with a positive, constructive attitude toward the task.'
The issue is very significant. Stay with me here ...