…to a – sorry, words are failing me. Jim Geraghty:
At the president’s news conference, ABC News’ Jake Tapper just asked Obama if he was willing to make cuts to this year’s budget, as a “down payment” on future budget cuts.
Obama says he wants to work with Republicans, but that he doesn’t want to make “a series of symbolic cuts this year that endanger the recovery.” He talks about the danger of “tens of thousands of layoffs in state and local government” or poor performance in the “core functions” of the government.
“Let’s use a scalpel, not a machete,” Obama says.
As if that was the choice. Look, Mr. President, you have got to get over your strange, provincial belief that the map is the territory: not every aspect, or even most aspects, of objective reality is under your control. And in objective reality the choice is not between using a scalpel and using a machete; the choice is increasingly being between using a civil engineering team armed with chainsaws and bulldozers, and just giving up and using mass sprayings of Agent Orange.
Hey! I guess words aren’t failing me after all. Go, words!
Moe Lane
Sadly, nearly 30 years ago when Democrats were trying to convince people that the Reagan budget cuts were going to bring about the end of the world as we know it, they used the phrase ‘a scalpel, not an axe’.
I guess they’re not all that imaginative, but then again we knew that already.
” … the choice is increasingly being between using a civil engineering team armed with chainsaws and bulldozers, and just giving up and using mass sprayings of Agent Orange.”
I am SOOOOO using this in my next conversation with my liberal son-in-law!