ROLL CALL: Obama’s ‘Grand Bargain’ Tax Plan Is Hard Sell to GOP. “Lawmakers regarded President Barack Obama’s latest attempt to engage them on an economic proposal as largely irrelevant Tuesday, with neither Democrats nor Republicans viewing it as an actual step forward toward breaking their ongoing budget impasse.” Well, largely irrelevant describes Obama himself at this point. He hasn’t been much of a legislative negotiator. And now people don’t trust him to keep his promises anyway.