Obama Blasts Mitt Romney's Debate Candor: 'You Owe The American People The Truth'

Billionaire private equity mogul PeterPeterson is investing millions of dollars in a new Washington-based campaign for austerity, planning to blanket the airwaves after the election to bolster the case for a “grand bargain” in Congress’ lame-duck session that would slash Medicare and SocialSecurity spending in exchange for new tax revenue.

The new CampaignToFixTheDebt is chaired by former PennsylvaniaGovernorEdRendell, a Democrat, and former NewHampshireSenatorJuddGregg, a Republican. It’s priming for lame-duck negotiations over the expirations of the payroll tax cut and the BushTaxCuts, as well as scheduled cuts to defense and non-defense spending.

Peterson’s allies aren’t waiting for the election, however. In NewHampshire, the co-chairmen of the 2010 SimpsonBowles commission — former RepublicanSenatorAlanSimpson and former ClintonWhiteHouse official ErskineBowles — have endorsed incumbent RepublicanRepresentativeCharlieBass, who supported a budget bill with many of their austerity recommendations, over progressive DemocratAnnieKuster. Bowles and Simpson have become fashionable politically, so Bass is taking full advantage of their endorsement, running full-page ads in newspapers across the state [...]

Peterson isn't new to the austerity scene. From 2007 to 2011, he personally contributed at least $458 million to the PeterG.PetersonFoundation, which portrays all government spending as in crisis, desperately needing dramatic cuts. Peterson’s millions have done next to nothing to change public opinion: In survey after survey, Americans reject the idea of cutting SocialSecurity and Medicare. A recent national tour largely funded by the foundation met with audiences who rebuffed its proposals.

It doesn’t matter if the public won’t buy the dog food. The politicians have. They’ve been positioning themselves to get this done for over two years. Only tax-averse Republicans who wouldn’t provide the cover needed for all the cuts stopped the deal the first time. And they have this massive machine to contend with from the BigMoneyBoys. These are people who want politicians to quit whining about poor people. They'd rather keep them marginalized.

Obama had an opportunity to defend social insurance programs last night, and he started with a dodge to give himself maximum political maneuverability before moving (not very convincingly) to a set of animating values about the people who need these benefits (without commenting on whether current benefits are adequate). This was pretty transparently discomforting.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost