When it came to talking about taxes during the presidential campaign, Barack Obama brought his A-game. When opponents accused Obama of planning big tax hikes to pay for his massive nanny-state programs, Obama played tenacious defense, insisting that the middle class wouldn’t see any taxes raised at all (via Yid with Lid):

I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.

Now that he’s actually rolling out his massive government programs — and massive deficits — suddenly, President Obama doesn’t want to play games any more:

Our friends in the media, will ask me and others once a week or once a day about what we’re willing to rule out or rule in,” he said, “That’s an old Washington game and it’s one that has made it all but impossible in the past for people to sit down and have an honest discussion about putting our country on a more secure fiscal footing. So I want to deliver this message today: We’re not playing that game. I’m not going to say what’s in. I’m not going to say what’s out. I want this commission to be free to do its work.

Er, but what about that “firm pledge” to protect the middle class from tax hikes? What about no family earning under $250K per year not seeing any kind of tax increases? Never mind, Obama says; game over. He won.

Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at [email protected] with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.

Illustrations by Chris Muir of Day by Day. Be sure to read the adventures of Sam, Zed, Damon, and Jan every day!