Cracks Widen Between Obama, Schumer

President Barack Obama and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., used to be close allies. But that’s not the case anymore, after Obama’s decision to negotiate a tax cut compromise with Republicans, Politico reports.

Schumer was upset with that decision, and the White House was upset when it learned Schumer planned to push forward with votes, which ultimately failed, on alternative Democratic proposals.

“The bottom line is that he [Schumer] had a short-term partisan strategy for point-scoring that would have been really costly in the long run and for which people would be properly angry,” a top administration official tells Politico. “He's a smart guy. This wasn't a smart or practical strategy.”

The news service states: “Since then, the relationship between Schumer and Obama, arguably the Democratic Party’s two most influential message strategists, has become so strained both sides are working to patch things up for fear their differences could hinder Democrats in the face of a strengthened and determined GOP opposition.”