D.O.A.

Lame-duck president budget won't go far.

"Indeed, with a lame-duck president facing approval ratings near historic lows, many experts predict the proposal will have a short shelf life—particularly in an election year. 'There’re really no incentives for Democrats to move on the [president’s] budget this year,' said Stan Collender, a former Clinton administration budget analyst who is now a director of Qorvis, a Washington-based communications firm. 'There’s nothing in there for them.'"

It's fair to say this budget is dead on arrival. But if one accepts the notion that budgets are moral documents, which I do, then where is the Christian right in this matter? Certainly focusing on the deficit is a moral factor for any country.

Also under scrutiny is the president’s claim that the spending blueprint would eliminate deficits by 2012. Critics are quick to point out that the administration not only assumes the permanent extension of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, but also counts on a much larger number of Americans paying the alternative minimum tax—something Congress has vowed not to let happen.

In addition, the proposal includes only $70 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—far less than experts in and outside of the White House estimate the costs will be. Nussle on Monday defended the figure, saying that it represents "a bridge" that will allow the Pentagon to examine its future funding needs when those needs arise.

Worst president ever!