"Obama was able to reverse many of the cuts passed by House...Obama also repelled Repub moves to..."

[Pirate Smile]

Obama prevents budget cuts to favorite programs

WASHINGTON – A close look at the government shutdown-dodging agreement to cut federal spending by $38 billion reveals that lawmakers significantly eased the fiscal pain by pruning money left over from previous years, using accounting sleight of hand and going after programs President Barack Obama had targeted anyway.

Such moves permitted Obama to save favorite programs — Pell grants for poor college students, health research and "Race to the Top" aid for public schools, among others — from Republican knives.

The full details of Friday's agreement weren't being released until late Monday when it was officially submitted to the House. But the picture already emerging is of legislation financed with a lot of one-time savings and cuts that officially "score" as savings to pay for spending elsewhere, but that often have little to no actual impact on the deficit.

As a result of the legerdemain, Obama was able to reverse many of the cuts passed by House Republicans in February when the chamber passed a bill slashing this year's budget by more than $60 billion. In doing so, the White House protected favorites like the Head Start early learning program, while maintaining the maximum Pell grant of $5,550 and funding for Obama's "Race to the Top" initiative that provides grants to better-performing schools.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110411/ap_on_bi_ge/us_spending_showdown_details

[rpannier]

1. Interesting. K&R

It's always nice to get info from various sources to get a fuller picture

I would have been okay if they had let Race to the Top go

I am happy that the White House rejected GOP attempts to block the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to issue global warming rules and other reversals of environmental regulations. Obama also forced Republicans to drop an effort to cut off Planned Parenthood from federal funding, as well as GOP moves to stop implementation of Obama's overhauls of health care and Wall Street regulation.

[Shiver]

2. Sadly, I fear this will fall by the wayside on DU.

Although it would be nice to see those who were insisting that Head Start and Pell Grants were cut admit they were wrong.

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[spooked911]

78. but still- why can't the dems sell what they did better? Jesus, at least put up a visible fight

It's maddening

[Shiver]

92. Hard to sell much when the right wing owns the media

and could put whatever spin they want on something. The internet helps, but the internet has almost the exact opposite problem of the MSM - too much information out there, and you have to find it or be linked to it. The MSM puts it out there for you, but you have to deal with their spin.

[spooked911]

100. oh bull-- the media will put out whatever the president says

and the WH has spin-meisters who can get the right message out. Obama has NOT tried to control the debate at all.

[Shiver]

104. And you don't think the media will spin that?

:rofl:

[happy feet]

118. So you expect Obama to be able to outsmart the republicans

while at the same time giving speeches explaining to the public how he's getting over on them?

Yeah, that'll work. :sarcasm:

[MadMaddie]

124. Agreed!

It's frustrating...We have more creative people on our side why are we not using them?

[Historic NY]

84. +1

[jaxx]

3. Thanks for the info.

The Democrats did ok on this.

K&R

[PragmaticLiberal]

5. I'm new to DU but from what I've observed......

I expect this thread to go largely unnoticed.

[Pirate Smile]

6. You may be new but you catch on quick.

;)

[trumad]

56. Actually you're both wrong...

recommended to the front page.

[Shiver]

91. Excellent!

Good to see something positive on the front page for once! :hi:

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Tanelorn]

40. No it didn't I found it in the side bar.

Any glimmer of hope attached to  Qbama will do me

[Name removed]

59. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[aggiesal]

106. A big fat WELCOME to DU

:hi:
:yourock:
:toast:

[Pisces]

4. Great info. I hope those denigrating Obama on this board will read it.

[vaberella]

23. Reading is one thing. Recognizing, respecting and admitting he did good?--I doubt it. n/t

[SkyDaddy7]

51. Please correct me if i am wrong but...

If I am not mistaken it has been well over year if not longer since anything positive about Obama has been on the Greatest thread page, correct?

[cameozalaznick]

63. Thank you...

I was getting a little tired of the Obama bashing. We often don't know what he's dealing with behind t.he scenes. If you want unicorns and rainbows, you shouldn't be following politics.

[zipplewrath]

66. Did YOU read it?

I wonder because it talks about protecting "race to the top" which isn't globally popular around here. It mentions that he managed to maintain the authority to regulate the internet. But some of the regulation he has proposed is not real popular around here either. He protected some aspects of his HCR, but again that was legislation that wasn't particularly popular. And protecting Pell grants and Head Start aren't stellar accomplishment. Even members of the GOP like those. Truth is, the GOP tends to put those in their proposals so that they have something to "give back" when negotiations start.

In the end, Obama agreed to large cuts in what is left of this years budgets, and none of that came from 3 wars, or Gitmo. And the rich are still getting their tax cuts, and the 99'ers are still without benefits. And the GOP is setting the agenda here. And now he is getting ready to give a long speach about how he is going to cut the deficit further by not touching 3 wars, but by asking for sacrifices of those getting ready to use medicare/caid or social security.

[RaleighNCDUer]

71. And THAT is what is going to go unnoticed in this thread. nt

[Roland99]

72. It's obviously another one of his master chess moves

or something....

[Name removed]

77. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JDPriestly]

108. If Britain had controlled the printing presses in the US the way

Obama wants to control the internet, we would not have had a revolution. Tom Paine's writings would not have been available for long.

Freedom of the press, freedom of speech are incompatible with "regulating the internet." One of the few issues on which I agree with Justice Scalia is free speech. There is nothing to regulate on the internet as long as people are not committing crimes or charging based on (and thereby controlling) content on it.

[liberalmuse]

7. Most of what this man is doing behind the scenes...

gets unnoticed because more people than I like to believe would rather read both left and right screeds against him. It's hard to explain.

[Shiver]

8. My theory is that the left spent so many years angry at Bush,

many have forgotten what it's like to not be perpetually politically enraged. So good news filters to the wayside while the bad or blatantly untrue rises to the top.

That, and some people are such purists that anyone who isn't a dyed-in-the-wool socialist is nothing more than a tool of the corporations, or something.

[lordcommander]

22. Exactly correct n/t.

[Shiver]

39. As for the bloggers, bad news is better for their ratings.

People get bored reading about good things. They get much more traffic from negativity.

[PatSeg]

62. I think you've nailed it

That was pretty much my take on it, as I sensed that perpetual anger in myself, but I periodically splash my face with cold water to bring myself back to reality. I still get upset at Obama and the Dems in Congress, but I also know things are much more complex than they appear most of the time.

Then there are the people who took a lot of campaign sloganeering much too seriously and had unrealistic expectations. I tuned out the "hope and change" mantra during the campaign and kept my expectations grounded.

[trud]

68. Shriver

You may be right. But I heard promises during the campaign that turned into dandelion fluff in the wind once Obama was elected. I mean, not even an effort.

[BobbyBoring]

85. That's true

But........... I don't recall ANY Rethugs being outraged with W. They seemed to stand behind every one of his countless fuck ups.

Seems Obama can't do anything without pissing someone off on one side of the aisle or the other.

[OwnedByFerrets]

90. What you say is very true about "congress", but in my experience...

blantantly untrue with the repug masses. They cant stand Monkeyboy because he was too liberal. The ones I know....and I unfortunately know a lot of them, spit on him and his policies.

[Corruption Winz]

89. Brilliant observation. n/t

[blackspade]

97. So you don't count yourself as part of the 'left'?

Well I do, and your right, I am angry.
This country is going down the shitter thanks to the corporate scum in Washington.
It is not a purist position to notice and discus the problems that unfettered predatory capitalism has brought us over the last 10 years.
Until Obama takes a defined stand and actually advocates for the poor and the middle class, he can expect criticism from the 'left',...or something.

[Shiver]

107. I am very much part of the left.

Parsing my words doesn't make it not so. I referred to the left the way I did to encompass that end of the spectrum as a whole.

But criticism is different from much of what you see on DU. There are plenty of posters who will discuss and fairly criticize when they feel Obama has done wrong or taken a wrong position. There are others who will outright attack him for every committed or perceived slight before it even happens, but when he does something good, they are nowhere to be found. Those I refer to as 'purists' will never be happy - even if a socialist like Bernie Sanders were elected president tomorrow, he would still have to work with Congress to get things done, and when stuff he wanted didn't get passed, no matter how hard he fought, there would be people who would decry him a failure. Purists are people for whom even 9/10ths of something isn't enough. There is no victory unless it is absolute, and even half of what they want is utter failure, rather than something to take and build upon.

A president can take a stand and fight as hard as he wants, use the bully pulpit to lambast Republicans and regressives until they're blue in the face - but in the end, Congress is required to pass legislation.

I'm not saying you're wrong - Obama should take more defined stances and should use the bully pulpit to advocate. But anger should be directed and used to further a goal, not just unleashed blindly.

[blackspade]

123. I definately agree with your last statement.

I do however, think of myself as a purist.
That does not mean that I require or expect that all of my 'purist' positions will be met.
What I do expect is that that is where the debate should start, and not be conceeded before the negotiations begin.

[Shiver]

125. Apologies if I marginalized you with my purist remarks.

You have put it the most coherently and logically I have seen lately. There is nothing wrong with starting with everything and then making concessions when you have to. I am fully behind that.

And when it comes to ideals, I am a purist as well. But I am also a realist, and cogent that they will likely never be met in full.

[blackspade]

127. Thanks!

'But I am also a realist, and cogent that they will likely never be met in full.'

I totally agree, I just want and expect Obama to start at the Democratic core values and go from there.

[dennis4868]

15. yep....

Obama is like Eisenhower....they do the important work behind the scenes while everyone else hyperspeculates about what is going on and acts like experts....this is what DU is all about these days!

[RaleighNCDUer]

73. Obama is not like Eisenhower.

Eisenhower was more liberal, and warned against - not worked with - the MIC.

[usrname]

53. They go unnoticed because...

They're done behind the scene, as you mentioned. It behooves Obama sometimes to stick his neck out and do something in front of the scenes and get credit for the job well done. It's all part of marketing, you know.

[spooked911]

79. but WHY BEHIND THE SCENES???

Why can't he just do it publicly???

That's part of the whole problem-- he cedes the message to Rethugs.

[Parker CA]

9. Kick and Rec for clear and informative details. Thank you for posting. nt

[dennis4868]

13. Unfortunately....

for many of the "24/7 no matter what the facts are Obama haters", facts don't mean ANYTHING....I learned that awhile ago.....if Obama found the cure to cancer, many liberals would complain....

[vaberella]

26. A Black man got it first?! God forbid...n/t

[jaysunb]

111. You're getting close...

:evilgrin:

[NYC_SKP]

10. Interesting spin from the AP: "legerdemain", and "prevents cuts to favorite programs"...

Like he's being selfish.

And "legerdemain" is a term meaning "sleight of hand" or "trickery".

Damn that trickster Obama!!!11! (sarc)

:patriot:

:kidk:

[BlancheSplanchnik]

113. I'm surprised AP/yahoo sounded as positive as they did...or even reported it at all!

We really need a Network.

[treestar]

11. K&R

UNhappy Republicans - makes me happy!

[dennis4868]

12. I was watching CNN....

tonight and they were disclosing some of the cuts in the agreement and they were not bad....repubs did not get anywhere near the amount in cuts they wanted, plus the riders are gone....so I don't ghet why people here say that Obama caved.....they say he caved but cannot tell you why he caved.....the fact that he came to an agreement with Boehner does not mean he caved....

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[dennis4868]

28. Nope....

I will try to find it and post later....it was a segment with AC and a roundtable of politicos, including a reporter reporting from the Capital building....she was laying out what the repubs wanted and what they actually got....they got very little what they wanted.....

[vaberella]

30. It's okay. I found it..Link Below:

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/09/video-in-budget-battle-who-won/

[RaleighNCDUer]

82. Their original demand was 32 billion. They got 40 billion.

Look at the fracking bottom line.

[Clio the Leo]

14. Wow, I didn't even know "Race to the Top" was on the table...

.... that's (one of) his babies. Good for him.

[vaberella]

25. Huh...

On DU someone called it "Race to the Bottom"----Obama said everything was on the table to appease those assholes. He managed to not do that.

[RaleighNCDUer]

74. Yeah - good for him

protecting the privatization of public schools.

[abelenkpe]

120. +1 nt.

[Clio the Leo]

17. "unspent census money"

:ROFL: ....... go get 'em Obama!

[Pirate Smile]

20. I know what Boehner meant now when he raged about "smoke and mirrors" in what the White House was

agreeing to in the budget cuts.

heh

Republicans wanted a "big" number to show off. Obama & Democrats wanted to protect as much as they could of the programs that are important to them. They made a deal. It is pretty much how divided government works. They wanted a bigger number in exchange for the PP rider, ok, here's 3.5 billion in Pentagon spending we'd like cut. There ya go!

[Clio the Leo]

38. lol yep nt

[RaleighNCDUer]

75. Wow! 3.5 billion in military cuts?

That's what, a pleasant afternoon in Afghanistan?

[ReturnoftheDjedi]

18. Obama won this one.

[MatthewStLouis]

21. Obama is one cool poker player...I'm glad he's one of ours...

At times, Barack's unassailable pragmatism and his seeming lack of passion for progressive causes is disappointing for us. We want a leader who is filled with fire and sparks. Maybe it's all for the best that we have Obama. Consider what wild pyrotechnics is doing for the repukes. All their favored candidates are crazy unelectable nut jobs.

...

[Pirate Smile]

29. He's very patient and the media & pundits (and a lot of the rest of us) are not. People react and go

off. Obama also doesn't go out of his way to get explanations out there so, frequently, people are just left to go off and rage without any explanation. Later it comes - and then we end up with stuff like this:

(Video) Rachel Maddow: This is the president’s victory. He took a lot of abuse and did not waver. This is not just a promise kept, this is a DIFFICULT promise kept, and the base will reward him for it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfUAFDGvMiE&feature=related

[vaberella]

27. Hey were there cuts on defense/military spending?! Anyone know. n/t

[vaberella]

31. Got the answer...there were cuts in military spending. n/t

[Pirate Smile]

32. Yes. Details should be out either tonight or tomorrow. I know the Pentagon cuts were ones Obama &

Gates had already said they wanted but Republicans, of course, had said no earlier. I'm curious to see the details.

[vaberella]

37. This I remember. Yup, update us when more details are out.

This budget cut doesn't look so bad----does it?! I wonder if Obama put a lot of extra money on purpose and had them cut just the programs he wanted---instead of a lot of our good programs.

[Tarheel_Dem]

33. This has got to be so disappointing for some. Quick! Someone send this to Cenk...

:rofl:

[ecstatic]

36. LOL nt

[IADEMO2004]

34. K&R Details at last

fyi I'm In.

edit to add DU link that sent me here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x650859

[Tx4obama]

35. K & R n/t

Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 Obama 2012 :) :) ;)

[barbtries]

81. ditto

though i am not that enthusiastic!

[lamp_shade]

41. Great post and... hey... only 9 unrecs so far.

[Shanti Mama]

42. K&R.

[Bobbie Jo]

43. K&R

:kick:

[Peacetrain]

44. Can I get a Witness!

Thanks for posting this

[Myrina]

45. Good start ... now I'd like to see a signing statement ...

... saying something like "and tax rates on the upper 2% of income will immediately be raised to 45% across the board. Oh, and no more corporate tax dodging, either."


;-)

[Harmony Blue]

46. Indeed encouraging news, but

I will wait to see what the President says Wednesday evening before passing judgment either way.

[Name removed]

47. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[proud patriot]

48. Thank Goodness

[Change Happens]

49. I support this President 100%!!! Had to compromise, did, on to fight another one....nt

[bertman]

50. Reality check:

The Presidency and the Senate are in Democratic hands. The House was in Democratic hands until six months ago. Did they pass the budget when they had the majorities so we did not have to cut $38 BILLION from so-called entitlement programs? So why is the President a hero now after cutting BILLIONS from social safety net funds that should never have been cut in the first place?

When they had the majorities did the Democrats or the President even mention raising taxes on the top 2% or on corporations who are paying NOTHING in taxes? Or did they piss away the chance and give the Republicans the House?

Did the Democrats even attempt to slow down the Military-Industrial-Corporate Complex train that is hauling away TRILLIONS of our tax dollars?

HELL NO!

They diddled and dawdled and did jack shit and then lost the House, so now the President is a hero for saving some things that should never have even been in jeopardy in the first place. Give me a frickin' break.

When the President and the Democratic leadership pass a budget that cuts military spending in a significant way AND that raises taxes on millionaires and billionaires and corporations WITHOUT cutting the spending for those Americans who are already hurting the most, then and only then will I say they've done their jobs.

[Name removed]

54. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[FrenchieCat]

70. They diddled and dawdled and did jack shit?

If you believe that passing health care (that Dems have been trying to pass for years),
and financial reforms is jack shit, then I have a plausible Republican candidate for you
to vote for.....who believes the same thing you do.

But thank you for repeating GOP and Media lies.
My questions is why do that?

Zombie Lie: That Dems "Failed" to Pass Budget - NO, GOP Senators BLOCKED IT
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/07/964278/-Zombie-Lie:-That-Dems-Failed-to-Pass-BudgetNO,-GOP-Senators-BLOCKED-IT

[julian09]

83. Dems may have held US House, Senate and WHITE HOUSE

But the senate almost always required 60 votes and still does; so essentially the repugs hold two legs of the stool this session. They did well with only senate obstruction previous congress.
The blue dogs lost seats last election, but not enough.
There are 230 Gop who have taken a no tax pledge, how will that affect budget proposal for 2012?
They are stupid enough to crash the economy to prevent taxing the rich; instead of raising revenue.
When a family has too much debt and cutting alone doesn't solve the debt; they may add more revenue by getting
a second job or increasing hours worked. Saying I refuse to increase my income; may contribute to losing car, house, college fund etc.
Repugs know that the last ten years of Bush tax cuts didn't create jobs, but just created huge debt. They don't want Obama to pursue the Clinton tax rate on the rich and keep taxes below $250,000 lower. They want to see Obama fail. It is so obvious that the Bush policy failed, that the Dems took control in 2008 but lost it due to obstructionism and blue dogs who vote like Republicans.

[BobbyBoring]

87. Thanks for posting that!

I was trying to remember all the details and that lays them out very well. If Obama wanted to give every zillionaire a gold plated Rolls, the rethugs would have blocked it even though they would love to do it.

[bertman]

98. Oh, you must be referring to that healthcare reform where my wife and I pay

over $10,000 a year for our 'medical coverage' but the deductibles and copays are so high that neither of us uses it until we absolutely have to. If either of us has a major health problem we will be bankrupt. Reform?
Reform would have been Medicare for all or a Public Option, but they were not even allowed on the table. Instead we get mandates for everybody to have insurance they cannot use. Except, of course, for those of us who are well off enough to afford it.

My question to you is "Why do you ignore the way this President concedes ground to the Republicans at every turn while calling those concessions 'victories'?"

[Hardrada]

94. That would mean we live in a functioning democracy.

Obviously we do not!

[AllTooEasy]

95. One word = Filibuster; two words = Conservative Dems

Reps had 41 Senators and were blocking a budget deal. Add Conservative Dems in the Senate to the mix and you had zero progress on budget talks.

[asthmaticeog]

52. The pitiful crumbs he spares us while he gives away the store.

Yay? :patriot:

[tomp]

55. thank you. bones and crumbs, dem party's raison d'etre. nt

[ejbr]

58. +1 n/t

[w4rma]

57. I'd rather not save "Race to the Top" aid. Thank you very much. (nt)

[BobbyBoring]

88. I'm wit you.

Race to the top is right up there with No child left with a behind in my book.

[Hardrada]

93. That should have been killed right away!

[Major Hogwash]

60. Yaybutt, Rachel didn't say it on her teevee show, so it don't really happen.

Huh?

I fink dat doz peeple dat donn liik Ohbaama shud reed dis.

[Myrina]

99. People might take your posts seriously if you didn't speak LOLCATZ

... just sayin' ...

[Major Hogwash]

121. Series!! This is HUGH!! Stop casting asparagus at me!! I have broccoli fans already!!

LoL

[Myrina]

61. .. and our local paper says he used "budget tricks" to do so ...

... nothin' like a little pro-GOP slant to start the day, huh?


:puke:

[grahamhgreen]

64. 81% of Americans want to tax the rich, 63% out of Afghanistan. That would be a victory.

this is just a holding position in a quick retreat.

[polichick]

76. +1

[Name removed]

65. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[pinto]

67. Kick

:kick:

[Wait Wut]

69. Good Grief.

I went to comment and the damned thing was locked.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for a bright spot in my morning!!!!

:loveya:

[flamingdem]

80. k and r

[AtomicKitten]

86. k&r

[blackspade]

96. I'm not an Obama fan, But

if all of this info is true, then credit where credit is due.
Why he didn't make this clear in his national address, I'll never understand.
He should be hammering this message home himself rather than leaving the beltway media to do it.

[DrToast]

102. Agree...this is quite an interesting development

The conventional wisdom last week was that Republicans beat Obama senseless.

Now it's quite the opposite.

Still, I'm not sure it was a good idea for Obama to go on TV praising how much he cut government spending.

[blackspade]

105. And that is my problem with his messaging.

[Zambero]

112. It's because he still needs to deal with them again

There's still the debt limit and 2012 budget this year alone. The strategy seems to be for Obama to cede equal credit for both sides, even if the results aren't quite as "equal" as the Republican leadership might have hoped for. So the GOP saves a bit of face and Obama got a better deal than he let on. With the next round of intense negotiations, Republicans know that regardless of outcome they can claim some credit to feed to their base, even if they don't come close to grabbing the whole enchilada. If anything Obama is very pragmatic, and at this point he's likely choosing his words carefully, within the context of looking several steps (battles) ahead.

[blackspade]

122. So Obama is on a one way street going the Rethug way.

Great.
It would be nice if Obama rattled their cage enough so that the rethugs would tone down their rhetoric.
But that won't happen.

[graywarrior]

101. How dare you report anything good that Obama has done!

WTF is wrong with you? You are not acting in the spirit of the Obama experts and advisors here at DU.
:sarcasm:

[Fearless]

103. One-time cuts ARE STILL CUTS.

[JDPriestly]

109. But, thus far, Obama has agreed with the Republicans about cutting

Medicare and Social Security benefits. That is what is going to really hurt him in the end. Many elderly people have always been staunch Democrats -- in part because of Social Security and Medicare.

Obama either defends the benefits of seniors (which are barely enough to keep a person alive as it is) or he loses those votes. Many of the seniors have to go to great lengths to vote. They simply will abstain unless Obama gives them a reason to make that effort. I talk to seniors. They are very susceptible to the information they get in the news. And many of them, even Democrats, get their news from Fox because Fox is sensational, superficial and easy to follow. It presents things from the viewpoint of the America they think they remember -- which was uncomplicated and understandable. Obama will have to have done more than hard-to-understand accounting tricks to gain the votes and support of the American people in 2012.

[Shiver]

119. Link to me whwere he said he agreed about benefits being cut.

I have heard no such thing.

[JDPriestly]

128. I don't need to link. Obama talks euphemistically about changing

Medicare and Social Security quite frequently. Just pay attention.

[Shiver]

129. So you have no proof that he said benefits should be cut.

I thought so. You took something he said about changes, which could easily mean targeting redundancy or waste, and decided it meant cutting benefits.

[JDPriestly]

131. Medicare's admininstrative costs are minimal.

The waste is in the private insurance provision of healthcare. Yet, the Obama healthcare plan requires people to buy the more wasteful private insurance. And the only plans I have heard for changing Medicare would force older people to waste their scarce money on premiums for private insurance.

Obama, with his insistence on compromising on even the most important issues, will no doubt give into the Republicans on this plan. No doubt he and Michelle will be hired by the insurance industry among others after he leaves the White House. How do you think the Clintons made so much money after their time in the White House?

Have you read Matt Taibbi's book, Griftopia. It is quite an eye-opener. Matt Taibbi is just maybe about the only real investigative journalist we have at this time.

[Shiver]

132. See, I'm reading over the President's proposed budget right now

as well as the TRS (Terminations, Reductions, and Savings) and the only cuts to Medicare I see address waste, fraud, and abuse.

Of course, you're free to take a look and tell me if I'm wrong. I may read legislation for fun, but I don't always understand all of it. Both files are easily searchable PDFs.

Budget: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/budget.pdf

TRS: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/trs.pdf


Oh, and I haven't read Griftopia yet. It's been on my to-read list for three months now, but that list is about as long as Boehner is orange.

[ReturnoftheDjedi]

130. not once has he done this.

People said he would do it in his State of the Union. They were dead wrong. He didn't.

They're saying the same things about his speech tomorrow.
They'll end up looking like fools again.

[Zambero]

110. Like it or not...

The only way to end Republican influence in the budget process is to send them packing for good. That means NOT electing them to the presidency or to a single house of Congress, NEVER EVER AGAIN. Will voters ever fully cooperate in this endeavor? I would like to think so after what's going on in Washington these days, but they keep getting "invited back" despite a dismal record in all matters foreign and domestic. Divided gov't was set up as a system of checks and balances. It also sets up "compromises" that result in terrible policies, enacted under the banner of "deals" made in order to keep the gov't afloat. I use quotes, but just barely. There's an element of reality that can't be denied.

[DesertDiamond]

114. I'm so happy to hear this. Not a fan of "Race to the Top" but nonetheless... happy

[BumRushDaShow]

115. K&R

:kick:

[rasputinkhlyst]

116. Hmmmm

So this needs to be heavily advertised and promoted BUT its NOT ENOUGH for me. REPEAL THE TAX BREAKS NOW AND END THE WARS!!!

[emulatorloo]

117. Thanks for posting this. Very interesting. See also:

"Budget Deal Actually Cut Less Than $15 Billion"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x875856

[Ramulux]

126. Insane spin

Obama stops republicans from destroying everything and we are supposed to see this as a win. I can tell you who isn't going to see this as anything positive, the people whose lives are going to be severely effected by these cuts.

We need to start focusing on the big picture and the reality is that republicans got 78.5 billion in cuts, almost all from social programs and other important agencies. Whether or not some of the cuts came from leftover funds(that could of have been used for things like education and environmental safety rather than being cut) isn't the point.

We got nothing in this deal, protecting programs and agencies that already exist isn't a win its a return to neutrality. Tax increases and increases in funding for education would have been a win and yet the democrats made no demands and got no concessions, they simply got the republicans to agree not to completely destroy our government and take a little less than what they wanted.

If someone comes up to you and says I'm gonna punch you in the face if you don't give me $100 and you convince him to take only $80 and not punch you in the face, that's not a win that's just a slightly smaller loss.

[Vattel]

133. I can't believe so many fell for the BS in this article.

This article is all spin. It doesn't even specify the cuts that Democrats don't like.