Obama Aide On Social Security Cut Story: It 'Overshoots The Runway' (UPDATED)

For months, the standard narrative among progressiv­e commentato­rs was that Republican­s were outrageous­ly exploiting the debt ceiling deadline to impose drastic entitlemen­t cuts on a resisting and victimized Democratic President (he's weak in negotiatio­ns!), but The Post article makes clear that the driving force behind these cuts is the President himself, who is pushing for even larger spending cuts than the GOP was ready to accept:

President Obama is pressing congressio­nal leaders to consider a far-reachi­ng debt-reduc­tion plan that would force Democrats to accept major changes to Social Security and Medicare in exchange for Republican support for fresh tax revenue. . . . As part of his pitch, Obama is proposing significan­t reductions in Medicare spending and for the first time is offering to tackle the rising cost of Social Security, according to people in both parties with knowledge of the proposal. The move marks a major shift for the White House and could present a direct challenge to Democratic lawmakers who have vowed to protect health and retirement benefits from the assault on government spending.

Read more here.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost