Analysis: In Spending Cut Debate, Obama Wins

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Analysis: In Spending Cut Debate, Obama Wins
By Jonathan Allen, CQ Staff


For all the rhetorical hits President Obama took on Monday for asking his Cabinet to identify spending cuts of $100 million in the next 90 days, it may be that he and his aides have the last and heartiest laughs.

Last week, Obama was taking real political flak from taxpayers all over the country who gathered at “tea parties” to protest imagined tax hikes and real spending.

Democrats have yet to adopt a budget blueprint under Obama and already well more than $1 trillion has been appropriated with his signature.

But instead of bashing Obama’s spending, many Republicans spent Monday arguing that he was cutting too little.

That’s a fight — whether he cuts too much, too little or just enough — that the White House can win even if it loses. If the debate is about cutting, not spending, Obama has won.

That thought occurred to some Republicans as others cracked wise or attacked Obama for fiscal irresponsibility.

“It was stupid to have a partisan response instead of replying with a ‘for someone who is wasting $1 billion a day in so-called stimulus, this is a great first step, and there is so much more we can do,’ ” said one congressional GOP aide.


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