BAIT AND SWITCH – AT 7:15 P.M. ET:  That's the tactic used most often by this administration.  You can't believe any position they take this week because it may change by next week.  A "crisis" will be declared, which is the way this crowd operates.  Exhibit A, from Fox:

President Obama said Tuesday that "everything has to be on the table" as his newly appointed debt commission goes to work, but he would not entertain questions about whether tax increases, included a value-added tax, or spending cuts will get serious consideration.

"We're not playing that game," the president said.

Unbelievable.  Incredible.  The man has no shame.  Maybe he thinks it's a game.  Most of us think of it as government. 

"We're not going to say what's in. I'm not going to say what's out. I want this commission to be free to do its work," he said, warning that the country would face a "day of reckoning" if the federal government cannot control its spending.

Wha..?  Did you get that?  Isn't he the guy whose programs have driven the national debt to unsustainable levels?  Now he's lecturing us?

You can see the campaign strategy emerging, and it's a clone of 2008:  Say anything.  The public won't notice and the press will help us out. 

Peter Orszag, White House budget office director, said in prepared remarks to the commission that persistently high deficits could eventually stifle the economy.

"The options to further reduce the deficit may not be popular, but they are necessary," he said.

As you can see, belaboring the obvious is another part of the strategy.  But don't expect the "unpopular" options to get much mention until after the election.

But finding consensus among the panel -- composed of 10 Democratically appointed commissioners and eight Republican appointees -- will be an especially challenging task because it takes 14 votes out of the 18 members to approve a recommendation.

The co-chairman, former Republican Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming, called it "a suicide mission."  That appears to be true.

April 27, 2010