One of President Obama\'s top political generals says the economy remained in the doldrums because the Republicans won\'t budge on upper-income tax rates. Senior White House adviser David Plouffe said on NBC\'s \"Meet the Press\" Sunday that the administration and the White House had proven their willingness to discuss further spending cuts, but accused the GOP of being obsessed with blocking nominal increased in taxes paid by the wealthy. \"If the Republican Party will say, \'You know what, because the Democratic Party is willing to do a lot more spending cuts, we are willing to ask the wealthiest to do a little bit more, through tax reform, then we could go a long way to solving this problem,\" said Plouffe, who was Obama\'s campaign manager in 2008. Plouffe opined that the president was in good shape heading into 2012 with a list of achievements including the end of \"Don\'t Ask, Don\'t Tell,\" the demise of Osama bin Laden and the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Iraq. Plouffe also contended that the Republican jobs strategy was considered unworkable by independent economists. \"The only plan right now in front of the American people, in front of Congress, that would create jobs in the short-term is the president\'s,\" he said.