Do people here realize that the President's Budget doesn't come up for a vote?

[brooklynite]

I've seen people here panicking about the impact of Chained CPI and other budget items will have, Do you understand that President does not have a Constitution role in preparing the budget, and historically sends one to Congress only as a policy document? The House prepares a Budget; the Senate prepares an alternative. If the House Republicans and Senate Democrats are already complaining about Chained CPI, why do you think it has any chance of inclusion?

[demwing]

1. Do you realize the mileeage the Republicans will get from this

not to mention the fact that the base line has been set for negotiating. The third rail has been touched, and by a Dem president.

Pathetic.

[HereSince1628]

3. third rail's been grabbed...is it energized?

Only if citizens make it so.

Arguing away the angry reaction of people is arguing away the need for politicians fearing getting zapped.

[Cali_Democrat]

4. Yup. it's also about the baseline

You don't start out negotiations by giving the other side 90% of what they want.

And yet the GOP still snubs Obama.

[Cali_Democrat]

2. Yes it does

It's called the November 2014 election where Republicans will act as the guardians of Social Security and attack Obama and Dems for proposing cuts to that program.

The Republicans are not serious about deficit reduction. They only want to get into power. They goaded Obama into proposing cuts and he obliged. Now they will attack him for it even though they want cuts to SS.

Nobody ever said Republicans act in good faith. More often than not, they have some sort of ulterior motive.

This move by Obama was monumentally stupid.

[PETRUS]

5. Exactly. The President's budget is a statement of principles and priorities.

So what are we supposed to think now?

[dgibby]

6. I think I'm never voting for another candidate with "daddy" issues.

GWB tried to one up his, and Obama has a pathological need for acceptance by people who will NEVER accept him.

[HereSince1628]

9. Obama's memoirs will certainly be examined in an attempt to understand his psychology

I'm not sure one way or the other about whether he has 'daddy issues'

To me it seems that Obama's had a pretty exceptional life-story, very different from most Americans and most American politicians. And it seems he's often been in circumstances where he has not been what people might expect him to be.

This is certainly a circumstance where DUers, if not the entire democratic base, were not expecting him to be a compromiser of SS and medicare.

In this respect I think we can say Obama has completely distinguished himself from baby-boomers, to whom he is sometimes connected due to his birth year. It's pretty clear that he is more attached to younger people who farily openly express fear about the burden of the baby-boom retirement.

I've wondered in recent days, what would his grandparents say about his view of SS and medicare?

[elleng]

7. Of course not brooklynite,

but 'people here' (and elsewhere) appear to need a target, and rarely if ever recognize how negotiation works.

[randome]

8. Two reasons to pile on Obama.

1. Some are simply salivating at each and every opportunity.
2. Obama gave us a mere taste of liberal policies (Obamacare, gay rights, gun control, etc.) and we are impatient to have more of the same.

Preserving SS is clearly a no-go, as anyone with half a brain can see. But that isn't the kind of people he's dealing with, is it?

[ljm2002]

10. Gosh, please enlighten the rest of us rubes...

...because you must be the only one on DU who knows how the government works.

The President sends Congress a policy document. Most of us expect the President's POLICY DOCUMENT to represent his PREFERRED POLICY and most of us expect a DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENT to propose a policy that reflects the HISTORIC DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLE of DEFENDING AND SUPPORTING SOCIAL SECURITY.

Yelling intentional.

But instead we get a "policy document" from our Democratic President that includes chained CPI which amounts to cuts in Social Security payouts over the life of the payments. He defends himself by saying "It's not my ideal proposal". His mouthpieces defend the proposal by saying "It can't pass without concessions" and "Chained CPI isn't really a cut" and "Well the Republicans asked for it". All of which begs the question: Why doesn't our Democratic President come out swinging and defending OUR preferred policies? Why doesn't our Democratic President present HIS IDEAL PROPOSAL, instead of (as always) leading with concessions? WTH kind of negotiating strategy is that?

Unless, of course, it really is his preferred policy. Which I believe is the case here.

And by the way: the President, any President, has a lot of power to shape and control the narrative. This President has just failed miserably at that, or alternatively, he has exposed his real agenda. You decide.

[dgibby]

12. The Great Compromiser strikes again.

I would hate like hell to have him as a negotiator if I were a hostage.

[1-Old-Man]

11. No, but it is the starting point for negotiations with Republicans and so we should never give away

we shouldn't give away the farm as our opening position, its just utter folly to do so.