An Abdication of Responsibility

With his latest budget (if it can be called that) combined with the profligacy of his first two years, Barack Obama has already proven himself to be the most irresponsible president of my lifetime. And since my lifetime covers LBJ and Richard Nixon, that is saying something. His budget is an abdication of responsibility.

It is also clear that his talk of fiscal responsibility is just that – talk. It is clear that he appointed a Deficit Commission only to look concerned about deficits, not to do anything about them. His budget virtually ignores the recommendations of that commission. It is clear his strategy is to let others deal with the deficit and take the political heat while he avoids tough decisions. It is the beginning of the usual liberal Democrat gutter politics:

This will go down as canny politics in Washington, as the President lies in wait to ambush Republicans when they propose their real spending cuts. Then he hopes he can cut them to ribbons on his way to re-election.

His budget practically begs for a showdown over raising the debt ceiling, a showdown in which Obama hopes to make political hay ala Clinton. Hey, the next election is far more important than the nation’s future.

Obama is not only irresponsible; he is almost incapable of shame.

And if you think I am hard on him, read the following (with a warning on language) and guess the source:

In this budget, in his refusal to do anything concrete to tackle the looming entitlement debt, in his failure to address the generational injustice, in his blithe indifference to the increasing danger of default, he has betrayed those of us who took him to be a serious president prepared to put the good of the country before his short term political interests. Like his State of the Union, this budget is good short term politics but such a massive pile of fiscal bullshit it makes it perfectly clear that Obama is kicking this vital issue down the road.

To all those under 30 who worked so hard to get this man elected, know this: he just screwed you over. He thinks you’re fools. Either the US will go into default because of Obama’s cowardice, or you will be paying far far more for far far less because this president has no courage when it counts. He let you down. On the critical issue of America’s fiscal crisis, he represents no hope and no change.

And I apologize for the language, but it is certainly appropriate given what Obama is doing to this country.

This source is absolutely right. And that, again, is something coming from me as the above quote is something coming from him. For the source is . . . Andrew Sullivan.