Bob Woodward Shocker: There Is a Way to Raise Revenue AND Lower Tax Rates

Stop the presses! Stop the presses!

The Washington Post's Bob Woodward on The Chris Matthews Show Sunday not only called Democrat visions of balancing the budget by raising taxes on the rich a "fantasy," but he also said "there is a way to...raise more revenue and perhaps lower the rates" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

BOB WOODWARD, WASHINGTON POST: But there's a fantasy element, unfortunately, in this, about the tax increases for the wealthy. It probably is sensible, good policy. It’s theology, as you know, with the Republicans not to do it, and when you look at the raw numbers, it's kind of only eight percent of the annual deficit. You don’t get enough money, and if you go back to 2010 when it was Obama and Joe Biden who made the agreement with the Republicans to extend the Bush tax cuts.

So I would not rule out him giving that just because you're not going to get that much revenue from it. And there are other ways to do it. And the idea that somehow you can put enough Republicans and all the Democrats in the House together won't work because the Democrats will not go along with significant entitlement cuts.

But there is a way to do it and raise more revenue and perhaps lower the rates.

Guess what? This is what Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have been saying for months.

Is Woodward actually mellowing with age and starting to see the truth about how taxes actually work?

What was also interesting about this is it came as most of Matthews' panel including himself were predictably pushing for taxes to be raised on the wealthy.

As such, I don't often say this, but bravo Bob! Bravo!