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Obama: Make Middle-Class Tax Cuts Permanent

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By Wesley Oliver, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 29, 2009 10:29 AM CDT

(Newser) – President Obama hit the Sunday talk show circuit today, vowing to push Congress for a permanent middle-class tax cut for as long as it takes. “I strongly believe that we should continue those tax cuts,” Obama told CBS’ Face the Nation. “It’s still the right thing to do.” The president also said he’s advised banking executives to “show some restraint” and “help me help you.”

Turning to the war in Afghanistan, Obama said, “What I will not do is assume that more troops always results in an improved situation,” adding that civil efforts must be “robustly encouraged.” The president also got personal, saying his new job has “strained some friendships” but that he feels “incredibly fortunate” that he doesn't have a “caretaker presidency right now.”

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President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference, Tuesday, March 24, 2009, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

President Obama vowed today to push Congress for a permanent middle-class tax cut for as long as it takes. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations Wednesday, March 25, 2009, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

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Bob Schieffer gives Katie Couric a preview of his interview with President Barack Obama. (CBS)

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Obama: Make Middle-Class Tax Cuts Permanent