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What he meant was that balancing the budget doesn't require nearly so much pain when times are as good as they are now. How good? The budget deficit is expected to drop to $67 billion this year, 40% lower than the CBO had predicted. When negotiators found out that the shrinking deficit would give them an extra $225 billion to play with, the final knots in the deal dissolved. Christmas in May. Sometimes the mixture of money and politics is not so bad after...
This prudence is well founded. During the interminable budget brouhaha, Republicans in Congress and on the campaign trail have often come across as soulless CPAS at an actuarial seminar, talking of CBO figures versus OMB numbers, more concerned with monetary matters than morality. "The budget battle," says conservative guru Bill Kristol, "played into the two great Republican vulnerabilities: that we are the party of the rich and the meanspirited." While Republicans donned their green eyeshades, the Great Empathizer in the White House cornered the compassion market. The President's constant refrain that "we should balance the budget...
...sell a compromise for weeks. When Daschle first unveiled his plan in December, hardly anyone noticed. But by last week, with his poll numbers drooping, Clinton needed a credible proposal, fast. A top Daschle aide, John Hilley (soon to join the White House as its congressional liaison), kept CBO staff members working overtime trying to figure out how to squeeze in at least a teeny tax cut, which Clinton had promised. When Hilley had trouble getting the help he needed at CBO, it was actually Gingrich's staff that turned up the pressure on the exhausted number crunchers. This...
...remained grim, calling Clinton's comments "very, very disappointing." But Gingrich sidestepped Clinton's central point, notes TIME's Michael Duffy. "On the budget, Clinton positioned himself well by stating repeatedly he wanted a balanced budget as badly as the Republicans did, and had now proposed one using their CBO rules. Whether or not he actually wants one, now he definitely can't get blamed for not producing...
...James Carney reports that most of Friday's noise is posturing: "We won't know the chances for a deal until next week when the Congressional Budget Office releases its new economic forecasts and scores the Administration's plan. Then the serious negotiations will begin." Carney says the new CBO numbers are expected to be more optimistic, which may help close the gap between congressional Republicans and the White House. "It's not clear how much further Clinton can go," Carney says. "His budget is increasingly alienating congressional Democrats, and the President is fast approaching the familiar territory where...