From the WH press briefing yesterday,

[ProSense]

here is Jay Carney:

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Q Well, Republicans are saying that they can’t get commitments. I’m not in the room; I don’t know what the truth is. But Republicans are saying that they can’t get commitments. Mitch McConnell said that an administration official, which I believe is Budget Director Jack Lew -- he asked him how much would there be in entitlement cuts next year, and Lew said -- McConnell did not identify him, but it was Lew -- (laughter) -- and Lew said $2 billion, which is --

MR. CARNEY: I don’t -- actually that’s not talking about entitlements. And that is just a false moving of the chains here when we -- you got to compare apples to apples. The President has already committed to significant non-defense discretionary cuts that were embodied in the CR compromises that fulfill the fiscal year funding of 2011. And what the President is seeking and the commitments he’s made in terms of the spending he likes -- he would accept and seeks, in terms of non-defense discretionary spending, to lock in the savings represented from last year, represented in the CR, and to take them even further, and not just to have savings in one year.

But one of the reasons why he wants a big deal is because you can get a medium-size deal or a smaller deal, but that doesn’t deal with your long-term problem. Only a significantly sized deal in the trillions of dollars, between $3-$4 trillion is what we mostly talked about, over 10 to 12 years, that's the only way to really get at the problem of debt-to-GDP ratio -- to bring those costs in line so that we can get our fiscal house in order. That's what the President wants.

And he is willing to cut deeply in discretionary spending, carefully. He's willing to cut significantly in defense spending, if you do it carefully and maintain our national security interests. He's willing to reform entitlements and find savings there. And he's absolutely willing, of course, to make sure that it's balanced and that we find savings in our tax code.

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Savings are not cuts to benefits, but this isn't going to stop the media from distorting the President's position.

[hedgehog]

1. K&R