On Message: Who Wants To Cut Social Security?
The president's $3.77 trillion fiscal 2014 budget plan is expansive. But the part getting the most attention is his proposal to change the way the government calculates inflation using a measure known in economics-speak as chained CPI.
Following Script: Much of the initial reaction was predictable. Liberal Democrats hate the idea, because it amounts to a gradual cut in Social Security benefits over time. President Obama made it very clear in his remarks that these were "ideas championed by Republican leaders in Congress."
"I don't believe that all these ideas are optimal, but I am willing to accept them as a compromise," Obama added, after releasing his budget proposal on Wednesday.
As expected, many Republicans praised the president's willingness to go there. In an interview with NPR's Morning Edition, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., described it as "an olive branch."
And the response was similarly positive from Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. "He's putting a Democratic third-rail issue on the table," said King. "It could be the basis for the beginning of the process."
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, even implied the president wasn't going far enough, describing chained CPI and the president's proposed trims to Medicare as "modest reforms."
Out Of Left Field: So, it was a bit of a surprise when the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee — charged with getting Republicans elected to the House — blasted the president's plan as hurtful to the elderly.
"His budget really lays out kind of a shocking attack on seniors," said Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore.
He went on to describe the president as "trying to balance this budget on the backs of seniors, and I just think it's not the right way to go."
It's All Politics
On Message: Budget Votes May Matter ... In 2014