President Barack Obama vowed Saturday that irresponsible budgets were a thing of the past as he promised bold action to help the United States emerge from the current economic crisis stronger than before.This after he pushed for and signed close to $800 billion in supposed stimulus spending which was really a compendium of old liberal wishlists that had been lying around for a while. This after he is pushing for and promising to sign the omnibus spending package left over from last year's Congress because the Democrats wanted to pass a higher spending package than they thought they could get past President Bush. Now he wants to start acting responsible.
In his weekly radio address, Obama said his administration had inherited a 1.3-trillion-dollar budget deficit -- and a budgeting process that he called "irresponsible as it is unsustainable."
He argued that for years Washington as well as Wall Street had used accounting tricks to conceal real costs of programs.
"These kinds of irresponsible budgets -- and inexcusable practices -- are now in the past," the president said. "For the first time in many years, my administration has produced a budget that represents an honest reckoning of where we are and where we need to go."
But he's still relying on gimmicks. He's promising us $2 trillion in deficit reduction when his budget director had to admit under devastating questioning by Representative Paul Ryan that they're coming up with that number simply by imagining what they would have spent if the surge had been in force for 10 years and then magically finding savings by not spending that money on the surge and presto! they've saved $1.6 billion.It's fuzzy math, but in the same speech where Obama is promising to get rid of budget gimmickry, he uses those same tired gimmicks.
I guess he'll stop using those gimmicks - later. But the rhetoric - he'll use that now.
15 comments:
It's not "fuzzy math", it's deception, plain and simple. But what else should we expect from someone who cut his teeth in the Clinton administration?
I think it is kind to call it fuzzy math or deception. It is a big fat, gigantic,ugly. unpatriotic self-serving lie.
And I say that with all due respect.
Obama has been used to getting away with whatever he want to call something. The press pretty well covered for him all through the campaign.
But, it is starting to hit the fan. Obama seems to be on TV every day lately. Yesterday, he was trying to tell us that the temporary employment of 25 police officers was a sign of things to come even in the face of an additional 651K unemployed. Now, that is a gimmick.
When you get right down to it, all Obama has is gimmicks and sooner or later they will stop working. It likes it will be sooner.
Rick
Not only is Obama a lazy slacker who is spending millions of dollars entertaining and smoozing late into the night at the White House, but he is a confirmed narcissist with no real interest in the day to day work of being President.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1543285/the_ploy_of_inaction.html?singlepage=true&cat=75
mB
http://rpc.blogrolling.com/redirect.php?r=0227e1a1d260406a8a5873a6fde43310&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americanthinker.com%2F
Another article on Obama's work ethic.
The new Secretary of State's red button "reset" gimmick made her look silly in Russia. Gee-wrong word.
They kept telling us that THEY were going to do EVERYTHING "smarter".
Maybe she soould have asked former Sec. of State Rice for the correct Russian word.
Pretty audacious to bring up Obama's work ethic after W. Not only the hundreds of vacation days, but clearing brush while terrorists were preparing the 9/11 attacks, refusing to end his vacation when Katrina hit, etc. Obama has accomplished much in his first 45 days, and while I understand you don't like (most of) what he's done, it's idiotic to whine about his dedication to the job.
Then again, skay called Obama's recent proposal to help wounded war vets and/or their families a waste of money for undeserving people. Hard to tell where she's even coming from.
And really, Chris, fuzzy math is now unpatriotic. I'd think it would be considered patriotic since so many past presidents - dem and repub - have used it. I guess the ODS has kicked in.
From the commies at CBS News:
Yes, that's 487 days. And Camp David is not even where the president has spent the most time when not at the White House: Knoller reports that Mr. Bush has made 77 visits to his ranch in Crawford during his presidency, and spent all or part of 490 days there.
I thought he WANTED this job....he has the energy to jetset all over the country but he can't wake up for a mid-morning press conference and meet and greet?
uh oh....
http://fargoneworld.blogspot.com
Nico
Mark
No need to be so defensive.
I apologize for calling the lie 'unpatriotic.' I was wrong to do that. It fit in with the meter of the sentence and I thought, "Everyone will realize I'm just being silly." But soon after it was too late to take it back I realized it was stupid of me to assume that. And it was just plain unfair for me to let loose with something like that so early in Mr. Obama's presidency. He deserves better and our country deserves better. It is not a fitting subject for humor in such a setting.
I do stand by the big fat, ugly, self-serving lie part in reference to the assumption of an 11 year long surge. This lie creates, out of nowhere, billions of dollars of nonexistent savings that are then used to mislead congress and the public. You cannot have such foolishness and also have transparent, honest government, whether it is done by a Republican or a Democrat.
Saying, "Both sides do it," is not a valid defense of the behavior. Saying it merely endorses repetition of the misbehavior.
[Skay had this comment, but I deleted it by mistake - here it is.]
"Then again, skay called Obama's recent proposal to help wounded war vets and/or their families a waste of money for undeserving people. Hard to tell where she's even coming from."
No it isn't Mark. Trying your own gimmics?
I answered that ridiculous statement already when you first posted it.
Qnce again-once again-my comments were about Obama's outrageous pork bill.
The US Government absolutely should take care of any problems within the military and can do it in OTHER ways.
USING the military as a way to justify the bill is disgusting.
My apologies, skay. You did in fact post that comment (I had left that thread the previous night). My comments to you and others were regarding the insistence that all the money is going to undeserving or "irresponsible" people:
"We know what the taxes are going to be used for. The Democrat Pork bill has shown everyone where we are going. Tax money for the irresponsible."
Folks like you and tfhr love to bring up exact quotes that make dems look stupid, then trip over yourself paraphrasing and spinning idiotic comments by repubs (such as El Rushbo). Your original comment called war-wounded and their families "irresponsible". That is outrageous. Glad you modified it.
This is, even by Washington standards, unusually dishonest and coming from the administration of Barack Obama, who promised us honest accounting and made a big show of how much integrity and candor he would bring to his governing, this is astonishing.
mark
Your high-dudgeon over Skay's alleged calling of veterans and their families irresponsible is ridiculous. There are many, many reasons to call the bill irresponsible, and many, many of the spending proposals do in fact go to undeserving and irresponsible individuals.
But your accusation that by saying this, Skay mean it especially applies to veterans (because they are a very small subset of recipients) is a huge stretch and simply a crass, outrageous politicization of the military and our veterans. You did that. Not skay. It's shameless and you can do better than that.
equitus,
It was not an "alleged" comment. Her statement implied that the money is going solely to "irresponsible" people. It's true that I picked the one "subset" that would make those comments appear absurd. I also agree with you that there are many irresponsible things in the bill. And I hope repubs and some dems responsibly fight Obama on some of his proposals (without resorting to the un-American"I hope he fails) gambit. But there are millions of Americans who are not military who will be helped and deserve help. To write off all of them as "irresponsible" is wrong and obnoxious. Like everyone, I get angry when I read about the abuses and excesses that went on over the last ten years, but it takes an arrogant and ignorant person to decree that 10s of millions of unknown people are undeserving of help.
"arrogant and ignorant person"
Considering some of your past posts Mark, I would say the pot is calling the kettle black.
This bill should not have been passed in the form that it was in - and Obama should not have signed it. This was supposed to be a stimulus bill to help the economy and that in turn would help everyone. Instead we have a bill full of Democrat pork. Pelosi is saving her mouse and Reid is getting his rail line that my grandchildren will probably be taxed for. I am waiting to see how much is doled out to Obama's favorite - ACORN.
We are beginning to find out a lot of bad things that are in the bill -- most who voted for it had not even read it.
As Rahm said-they are not going to waste a crisis.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2009-03-08-immigrant-jobs_N.htm
Illegals could get stimulus jobs.
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