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May 21, 2013
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 Can Obama Be Luke Skywalker?Posted on Feb 14, 2011Welcome to the war over E2I2. The great budget battle of Bill Clinton’s presidency was waged around a slightly different set of initials, also inspired by the “Star Wars” character R2D2. Clinton’s lieutenants jauntily encapsulated his fight against Republican cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, education and the environment as a defense of M2E2. For President Obama, the battle lines will be drawn on investments in—or, as Republicans will prefer, spending on—education, energy, infrastructure and innovation, thus E2I2. After Obama unveils his budget proposal on Monday, it will be hard to pretend anymore that the president and House Republicans even live in the same political galaxy, let alone have a chance of reaching lots of bipartisan agreements. House GOP members are fixated not on specific programs or the purposes of government but on how big an arbitrary number measuring their budget cuts should be. The leadership offered an absurdly long list of cuts in the very narrow part of the domestic budget. Advertisement But even those unrealistic cuts were not unrealistic enough for the party’s highly caffeinated tea party wing, and so now GOP leaders are scrambling to generate bigger numbers. Republican leaders and the tea party can’t even agree on how to count the various cuts. The bottom line is that House Appropriations Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., who had already come up with $74 billion in cuts, had to produce another $26 billion to reach the magic number of $100 billion that Republicans promised to take out of the budget in the 2010 campaign. Even that may not be enough. Why? Because his numbers included $16 billion in military savings that tea party members don’t recognize as part of the original promise, which was to come entirely out of non-security spending. I almost feel sorry for Rogers, though Republicans who rode the tea party tiger to power should not be surprised if they get devoured in the process. Obama’s budget, by contrast, will be a mix of cuts and increases, with the accent on policies oriented toward the future—thus that stress on new education and energy initiatives, the need to fix both our transportation and technology infrastructures, and the ways in which government can foster research, development and innovation. But the president also slices programs popular with his own side, notably low-income energy assistance and community development block grants that help cities. There is reason to worry that Obama’s cuts will do damage without satisfying Republicans—another case of the administration’s proclivity for preemptive concession-making that encourages the president’s opponents while dispiriting his friends. The White House, however, believes that by showing a willingness to make reductions, his budget will shift the focus toward the specific programs Republicans would wipe out or cripple. A senior administration official hopes the argument will go like this: “They want to cut and spend. We want to cut and spend. Let’s compare their cuts and our cuts, their spending and our spending.” The entire fight is confusing because Republicans are still talking about cuts in last year’s budget while Obama is largely concentrating on the coming year’s plan. And fiscally cautious Democrats in the Senate (especially the ones up for re-election in 2012) are an X-factor in everyone’s calculations. It helps Obama that House Republicans are moving so far over to the wild side that they may ruin their chances of complicating the president’s strategy by splitting Senate Democrats. On the other hand, some Senate Democrats are so filled with electoral anxieties that they may simply race to catch up as the tea party keeps moving the budget goal posts. Since the election, Obama has largely defined the domestic political debate while House Speaker John Boehner has presided over chaos in his own chamber. But with an actual budget on the table, the president will face a different level of challenge. Like Clinton, he will invoke the “Star Wars” story line and hope Republicans play their assigned Darth Vader role. But he’ll need to keep his troops behind him to prevail in the coming epic. E.J. Dionne’s e-mail address is ejdionne(at)washpost.com.  TAGS:
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By zonth_zonth, March 5, 2011 at 6:50 pm Link to this comment
Im still waiting for my insulation. I could have sworn than along with Hope and Change, he stated in his campaign “we are going to put new insulation in homes for energy efficiency”. Now I have moved a few times in the last few years but I think he still owes me my insulation.
Report thisBy joentokyo, February 14, 2011 at 10:55 pm Link to this comment
The simple answer to the question posed is NO!
Report thisBy Lafayette, February 14, 2011 at 9:24 pm Link to this comment
A PREDICTABLE OUTCOME
This outcome was predictable directly from the results of mid-term elections.
Americans vented their adolescent anger at a PotUS who showed that he could not walk on water and create a miraculous rescue to the worst recession that America had tipped itself into in over 80 years - by binging on cheap money.
The consequence is that necessary programs for reforming America, which are badly needed, will not be acted upon as the Congressional gridlock rigidifies policy movements in LaLaLand on the Potomac. This, in turn, will only make it harder for America to adjust to the new forces affecting economic outcomes.
Meaning that this present recession will last longer than otherwise necessary. Job creation will be slower. More people will remain either out of work, or those working will experience wages that will stagnate - thus consumer Disposable Income will not increase substantially. Therefore Consumer Demand will grow timidly. None of which can create jobs.
All this because Americans got into an puerile snit. It’s a great shame to blame a PotUS for our own childish behaviour that threw us into the present economic mess.
TeaParty that ....
Report thisBy mitchum22, February 14, 2011 at 8:36 pm Link to this comment
25 million unemployed and this establishment kiss-ass has a job. . .
Report thisBy reynolds, February 14, 2011 at 3:09 pm Link to this comment
skytalker
Report thisBy SoTexGuy, February 14, 2011 at 2:58 pm Link to this comment
Miami has Brownsville beat as far as being the southernmost point in mainland USA.. South Texas probably does rank farther down some other lists than does Miami!
More people should visit (more than visit) the area as well as some other truly economically depressed areas of our nation. It might help with their perspectives.
Adios.
Report thisBy wonkronk, February 14, 2011 at 2:45 pm Link to this comment
Throughout Tea Party Land, constituents are haranguing their members of Congress that under no circumstance are they to cooperate or compromise with Obama. These constituents include extremists such as neo-confederates and white separatists who advocate bringing down the federal government or secession. Passing a budget or even raising the debt ceiling to keep the government operating will be an enormous challenge when a sizeable chunk of the country has clearly lost its collective mind. Meanwhile, the Republicans other constituency, the trans-national plutocrats, while relishing cuts to government oversight, must be getting leery of what a government shutdown would do to their bond markets. The way to bring the Republicans to the table is to split the unnatural coalition of wealthy corporate capitalists and poor social conservatives.
Report thisBy william, February 14, 2011 at 1:51 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Obama can not be luke skywalker because he was hired to be the corporations suzy creamcheese instead. Hot poot mama, more bad news to come.
Report thisBy JDmysticDJ, February 14, 2011 at 1:35 pm Link to this comment
Looking at my map of the U.S., I see that Brownsville Texas is the southern most point on the map, the bottom so to speak. Let’s all race down there and see what happens.
“Well I’m goin’ down to Brownsville, gonna’ take me that right hand road.” Furry Lewis
Report thisBy SoTexGuy, February 14, 2011 at 12:23 pm Link to this comment
Here’s an idea.. the Federal and state governments should make a plea to their workers to accept drastic cuts in pay and benefits. 20% at least. Perhaps another 20% if the first go-round doesn’t fix the hemorrhaging. Across the board, everybody.. elected officials too (and including our mercenary military).
We’ve seen it in the news with big business again and again over the last decade or so. Be it an airline or an auto company, drowning in debt, no longer able to produce itself or raise efficiency so as to get into the black ink. What bigger business is there than the government? Surely our government employees are just as dedicated to their jobs and the idea of keeping America working as a guy making bumpers for pickups!
Why shouldn’t government workers do the same? They will be not only saving their own jobs but also they’ll be able to keep those important offices open and needed services to the public can continue..
And think of the added benefit of leveling the playing (wages and benefits) field for entrepreneurs and others who need workers.. right now an average job in Government pays almost 50% more than the same work in the private sectors. And of course benefits that are mostly unavailable..
This is an idea that can work and should be given a chance.
Adios.
Report thisBy mack894, February 14, 2011 at 12:13 pm Link to this comment
Perhaps we could just do away with tax cuts for the wealthy?
If the middle class and low income, which these days are just about the same
group of people, have to make sacrifices and eat cat food, why can’t the wealthy
make any sacrifices?
In the meantime, my health insurance premiums and co-pays have just gotten
Report thishigher. Was this part of health care reform?
By rollzone, February 14, 2011 at 11:48 am Link to this comment
hello. this is the mind melt: emphasize the cuts while
Report thisdoubling down on spending. nearly $4 trillion in
spending. cutting that in half is not enough. a
proposed budget of only $1 billion in spending, may not
save the dollar. he took an oath of office to protect
our currency. he is doing the opposite.
By robertbeal, February 14, 2011 at 11:13 am Link to this comment
The defense budget—from 2000 to 2008—increased 80%, NOT COUNTING THE WARS IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ.
Corporations are sitting on $2,000,000,000,000 of idle capital (that’s two million million).
Back in 2004, the top 1% had 33% of the nation’s total net worth; they have more now.
Let’s Put the Wealth to Work restoring our social and physical infrastructure, thereby increasing household and community security and liberating our most important asset—human potential.
Report thisBy BarbieQue, February 14, 2011 at 9:42 am Link to this comment
“Can Obama Be Luke Skywalker?”
ROFL Can EJ DroneOnAndOn be Serious?
Can EJ Be Bevis Or Butthead? I swear just when you think EJ has done the limbo he doubles down.
Contrast this bunch of pablum with someone actually looking for the truth & who isn’t hung up in labels here:
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/live_chat_robert_scheer_on_egypt_20110211/
Sheep herders like Dionne should be asking real journalists like Scheer things like:
Can I Bring you another piece of toast, Sir? or
Report thisAre your shoes shined to your satisfaction, Sir?
By Kanomi Blake, February 14, 2011 at 9:42 am Link to this comment
Kind of hard to be Luke Skywalker when you’re nothing but a Darth Vader, fronting for a cartel of corporate Palpatines.
Kind of hard to pretend to fight a budget battle for table scraps, long after the illegal pass through of trillions of dollars to war profiteers and the criminal banking cartel.
What purpose do these useless “Washington Post Writers Group” articles serve, except to push the illusion of participatory democracy when it’s clear there is no such thing?
Report thisBy Steve E, February 14, 2011 at 9:16 am Link to this comment
And the military, not so much, blah, blah, blah…..
Report this