Reply #15: he's politicking a very dangerous game that DOES threaten SS and Medicare....

[mike_c]

If it's brilliant politicking, it's the political equivalent of playing with matches in a straw house-- and I doubt his ability to control the results. Sure, the republicans are looking like a bunch of petulant children, but the dems aren't coming off much better!

Look, there are pretty straightforward causes for our fiscal problems, but SS is not one of them. Not even remotely. Obama is not proposing solutions for THOSE problems. Instead, he's using discretionary spending and the social safety net as a smoke screen to HIDE the real problems and their straightforward solutions. If Obama was actually serious about reducing the national debt he would focus his efforts where they might be highly productive, or at least propose high yield solutions (like ending the wars sooner rather than later, shrinking the hideously costly U.S. empire a bit, or taxing the rich).

One might argue that republicans will block meaningful reforms, but that doesn't explain why Obama is going after SS and Medicare in response, since neither is really the problem. That's like saying that "well, my leg is broken but I'll order surgery on my head because that's what's in fashion these days." It's misdirection at best, delusion or an ulterior motive at worst.

Brilliant politicking? That's not what I want from national leadership. I want pragmatic and real solutions to the nation's problems.