Harold's Left:

There is just a whirlwind of important issues going on in and around the White House. We are living in a time when Americans are dissatisfied, both progressive and conservative. We are worried about the rise of China as a legitimate counterbalance to American hegemonic power. We are worried about our military being spread too thinly around the world. We are worried about our massive debt and deficit. We are worried about the gridlock in Washington, which is propagated primarily by the Republicans, that calls for a 60 vote majority to enact legislation which was hardly the intent of the Constitution.

Obama scored a quick touchdown against the Republicans in Baltimore at the House GOP retreat weekend. He looked like a monarch on a tall throne taking questions from the gallery. Not only that, apparently the Republicans forgot that this sort of impromptu setting plays right into Obama's strengths. On the flip side, it plays to the weaknesses of Republicans. You know, like thinking on their feet or issuing remotely useful ideas. They are aloof and still quoting Fox News talking points that are neither real nor plausible. When Rep. Jeb Hensarling tried to talk Obama down with the last question on deficit reduction, Obama slammed him as an example of why bipartisanship is not working. Big win for Obama here.

However, even with that touchdown, the President has the honor of debuting his budget for 2010 which will run another 1.5 trillion dollars in the hole. Now. We all know where the root of the deficit problem stems from. It comes from an unprecedented Bush tax cut in 2001, an unfunded Medicare prescription drug bill, and a pseudo-illegal war in Iraq. This is why the deficit has ballooned in the last decade. Moreover, we've had to spend money to stimulate the economy because of the lassiez-faire policies of unbridled free-marketeering. Regardless, this rise in the deficit will look like another spending spree by Obama, which will hurt his image. The thing that bothers me is that people complain about the deficit, but are not willing to pay higher taxes. People want to go to war, but they don't want to foot the bill. See how that works? Yeah, it doesn't.

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