This was supposed to be the moment we were all waiting for. After three years of historic deficits that have added almost $4.5 trillion to the national debt, President Obama was finally going to get serious about fiscal discipline. Instead, what landed on Congress's doorstep on Monday was a White House budget that increases deficits above the spending baseline for the next two years. Hosni Mubarak was more in touch with reality last Thursday night.Obama has been telling us what he believes all along and this budget is the budget of a True Believer. Government is the answer. Jennifer Rubin fussed about Obama's news conference on the topic where there were statements like this.
"You guys are pretty impatient. If something doesn't happen today, then the assumption is that it's not going to happen," Mr. Obama said. "This is not a matter of 'you go first' or 'I go first.' This is a matter of everybody having a serious conversation about where we want to go and then ultimately everybody getting into that boat at the same time so it doesn't tip over."Other than using a silly metaphor, I'm not sure what the problem is. This is who he is, who he's been and who he said he was going to be. He's never led anything of significance in his life, he's never had to work with a powerful, principled opposition and he is a True Believer in the power of government. A budget of wishful thinking from his administration isn't much of a surprise, nor is the refusal to take a leadership position on this.
Just as a semi-side note, wouldn't it be surprising for him to change his world view while in office? You'd think that an insular White House (insular for every occupant, not just him) would be the last place you'd change your thinking. He's chosen people who think like he does - from where would come the change?
7 comments:
I'd advise getting rid of that graphic. Note the date on it. It's wrong.
Your chart emphasizes (inadvertantly) what I highlight here. That these estimates of future deficits change, and the change is unidirectional.
I heard a bit of this on the radio this morning, and it seemed to me that everybody's playing 'chicken' (while denying that's what they are doing).
They all know that if they don't address the big three items (Defense, Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security), then nothing else they cut is going to be anywhere near enough. But they also think that the first person to propose specific, substantial cuts to any of those three things is going to commit political suicide. Which is why Obama barely mentioned them in his budget, and why the Republican they were talking to on the radio (I think it was Boehner?) was getting huffy about how Obama didn't stick his neck out on the subject first.
Personally, whoever bites the bullet first and stops fooling around gets *my* vote if they need it, but maybe other people don't think that way.
Being the president is the ultimate leadership task. The dude wanted the job, it's time for him to do it. John Boehner isn't supposed to be point man on this. Barack is.
Jeff, I was in a hurry this morning. Sorry for the fumble on the graphic.
Just as a semi-side note, wouldn't it be surprising for him to change his world view while in office? You'd think that an insular White House (insular for every occupant, not just him) would be the last place you'd change your thinking. He's chosen people who think like he does - from where would come the change?
He might start by looking at the results of his policies and comparing them to what he thought and said they would be.
[Yes, I know, it's all Bush's fault.]
Do you suppose the comparisons between predictions and actual results are even being made?
Do you suppose the comparisons between predictions and actual results are even being made?
Of course not, results are not the point, it's the process following his radical lefty agenda that excites him.
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