Since the invention of the camera, American presidents haven’t been able to escape their one-line follies. Richard Nixon assured us he wasn’t a crook — oops.

Bill Clinton didn’t have sexual relations until we defined what “is” really means, and George H. W. Bush promised no new taxes. Then he raised taxes.

Ah, the ability to make public figures eat their own words has never been easier in our modern world, and the stakes for President Barack Obama have never been higher.

On Feb. 21, Reuters caught the new president in a potentially memorable one-liner.

An administration official explained Obama’s plans to allow tax breaks initiated during the previous Bush administration to expire on time.

Wait, someone needs to replay the tape.

During his campaign, Obama ran against the GOP standard. When his opponent, Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), called for tax breaks and stimulus checks, Obama called for careful investing and more precise taxation. Obama’s solution seemed simple enough.

Remove the tax breaks established during the Bush administration, (that’s George W. Bush for those keeping track) and increase taxes for Americans making over $250,000 a year.

With many Americans battling financial problems, home foreclosure and a slowing global economy, the plan seemed ideal, and despite the fact that Obama’s tax promises may have changed, his goals haven’t.

The Bush tax cuts will eventually go away, but most Americans feel a sense of financial urgency.

“I think he should eliminate [the Bush taxes] right away,” said College Democrats President Tony Wadas. “However, once they expire, the tax rate will go back up to where it was during the Clinton years.”

In his Feb. 24 address to Congress, Obama still promised to relieve the country of its financial woes, which are now worse since the election ended, but everyone seems to be overlooking the fine print.

Investing money in the economy still requires the government to pool money.

If those resources don’t come from wealthier Americans still protected by Bush tax breaks, they will come from another source.

Billion-dollar tax breaks don’t grow on trees.

New York Times business writer David Leonhardt directly stated the problem in a Feb. 24 blog. “Americans have made it clear that they want a certain kind of government, one that can field a strong military and also maintain popular programs like Medicare,” Leonhardt wrote. “Yet we are not paying nearly enough taxes to maintain those programs.”

Worse than Medicare, Americans just want homes. Still, Leonhardt makes a valid point.

Taxes pay the bills, and those taxes have to come from someone.

Saying Obama will move against his promise to tax wealthier Americans may be problematic; no one’s taxes have increased yet.

Still, ignoring how hope and change are funded is irresponsible.

Obama currently teeters between financing the country’s economic security as planned or changing course after the election.

Keep your cameras rolling, because the next political one-liner may surface sooner than expected.