Can Obama Do the Hard Things?

Yesterday, President Obama announced a plan to close tax loopholes and increase tax enforcement for multinational corporations – generating around $200 billion in revenue over the next decade. Experts disagree on the merits of the plan – some parts make good economic sense, while others may move us too far toward economic protectionism.
 
But this is beside the point. For the first time, President Obama is making a proposal which will take away rather than distribute money – a proposal which inflict pain on politically powerful actors.
 
Granted, multinational corporations are not the most popular institutions, and everybody loves “closing loopholes.” But to pass this plan, President Obama will have to stand up to corporate interests who are more than ready to lobby Congress and the public in defense of current law.
 
According to Reuters:
 
Business groups said President Barack Obama's proposals to tighten tax rules on overseas activities will make companies less competitive …A broad swath of companies -- from banking institutions and hedge funds to pharmaceutical and technology companies -- will be affected by the changes ...
 
"It's really hitting most Fortune 100 companies that depend to a great deal on growth of foreign markets for growing their total earnings," said Drew Lyon, a principal at PricewaterhouseCoopers' Washington office who advises Fortune 500 companies on tax policy…
 
"President Obama's plan today to increase taxes on American corporations is the wrong idea at the wrong time for the wrong reasons," John Castellani, president of the Business Roundtable, said in a statement.
 
If Obama is serious about reducing long-term deficits to manageable levels, most of his Presidency will involve making hard choices which will inevitably hurt powerful groups – corporations, unions, employers, seniors, farmers, energy producer, health care providers, the mortgage industry, and even perhaps middle-class tax payers.
 
Sometimes the President’s policies will be the right thing to do, sometimes they will be wrong. More often than not, the answer to that question won’t be so clear. But regardless of a particular policy’s merits, it will involve making politically unpopular decisions.
 
The question is: Can President Obama do the hard things?