Romney's Charitable Giving

Amazingly, leftist trolls are trying to insinuate that Mitt Romney's tithing, as revealed on his income tax returns, is something that Republicans, and especially evangelicals will hold against him, since the tithing went to the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints or Mormon church, colloquially. As a Christian, this facet of Romney's life gives me great hope for the man. In one of the most personal aspects of one's life, he has chosen to consistently put his money where his faith is. It is indicative of his honor and commitment to his beliefs. Meanwhile, I am not surprised to find that Obama and Biden are much less generous, giving 6.1% and .15% of their incomes respectively in their most recent available returns.

I am not saying that one's level of charitable giving is a qualification for President. However, it is an indicator of character, especially if we can view the long term trend for the man, even before he knew he would be running.

Government Shut Down?

If there was any doubt that the tenor of the discussion in Washington regarding the budget and spending has changed, consider this:

The potential difficulty of their job became clear after Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., following an evening meeting with Senate Democrats, said negotiators had effectively settled on $33 billion in reductions from current spending, a substantial difference from the $61 billion endorsed by the House in February.

By keeping the pressure on, and not bowing to threats of taking the blame over a potential shut down, Speaker Boehner is making the progress needed. Further, he is positioning himself for next year's budget battle by learning what tactics are working. The negotiations currently in progress only affect the fiscal year that ends on September 30, so a much bigger fight looms over fiscal year 2012 spending.

Meanwhile, you know you are making the right enemies when Chuckie Schumer is conspiring against you.

Speaking to several Democratic colleagues Tuesday, Sen. Charles Schumer, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said they should all use the word "extreme" when describing the budget cuts that Tea Party Republicans were seeking in the ongoing budget negotiations.

However, what is actually extreme is the unprecedented peacetime deficit racked up by this administration. Congratulations Tea Party.

Also, is there any better evidence that removing earmarks from the process has made it easier to get budget reductions? Since the House imposed an earmarks ban, the debate has only been about the size of the cuts, not a peep about raising spending. John Hitchcock explains why in the comments on a previous article. I do not recall in my lifetime such spirited debate about how much to cut government spending. I realize that spending has risen out of control in the first place, but the tenor of the discussion is heartening.

With regards to a government shut down, I don't think it will happen, because both sides are too uncertain about the outcome. Its like a game of high stakes poker, where shutting down the government is the equivalent of calling all in on two pair but your opponent is betting like he has a decent hand. You might win, but is it the smart move?

Obama on the Run - Dispatches Biden to Negotiate

The temporary spending measure pushed through was passed by the Senate on a 91-9 vote today, included $4 billion in spending cuts, one week after Harry Reid had rejected such a plan. Meanwhile, the President is appearing to concede that his weak budget plan to merely freeze spending is going nowhere.

Largely a spectator so far, President Barack Obama dispatched his vice president to initiate negotiations on a broader, longer-term spending bill and find "common ground" with GOP leaders determined to cut tens of billions of dollars more and undo much of his agenda. He conceded in advance that any deal on a government budget covering the next seven months will feature cuts . . . The upcoming talks, to be led by Vice President Joe Biden, promise to be far more difficult.

Meanwhile, earmarks have all but disappeared from the budget debate. This is a major victory for John Boehner and Tom Coburn, in my opinion. I wasn't previously aware that Boehner had made battling earmarks a cornerstone of his career. The absence of earmarks is making it easier to agree on spending cuts according to the linked article. Hooray! Here's why:

Top members of the Appropriations Committee might, for instance, grant a lawmaker’s request for a few million dollars for an important project back home. That lawmaker would then be obligated to support the entire multibillion-dollar bill despite possible reservations. Woe to the person who gets an earmark and then opposes the bill; chances for a future earmark would be somewhere between zero and none.

“You get millions for an earmark and end up voting for billions of dollars that you may oppose,” said Steve Ellis, a vice president at Taxpayers for Common Sense, a government watchdog group.

No wonder Coburn called earmarks the "gateway drug" to run away spending.

Biden Spills Beans

From the Fox News article:

Vice President Joe Biden, during a visit Tuesday to a Delaware automotive assembly plant, unwittingly revealed startup manufacturer Fisker Automotive's undisclosed plans to produce a full line of plug-in hybrid vehicles at the facility.

I think the operative word here is unwittingly; and couldn't we just characterize all of Biden's comments with that adverb?

$89,000 Hybrid sports car funded by your tax dollars.

A Heart Beat Away

The election is long over, but Joe Biden can't seem to find the off switch for the "Gaffe-O-Matic," even getting his wife in on the action. After swearing in cabinet members at the White House today, Biden apparently had to be reminded by Obama that he was also supposed to swear in senior staff. Not content to let it ride, he commented:

"My memory is not as good as Chief Justice Roberts."

Which was a swipe at the Chief Justice's misplacing the word "faithfully" in the part of the swearing in oath yesterday.

A couple of days ago, Jill Biden let slip on Oprah that Joe was given the choice of Secretary of State or VP. Dean has more insight here. I remember during the campaign, Joe commenting on how Hillary was probably more qualified than him to be the Vice President. The most recent comments puts a whole new spin on those remarks.

I'm also concerned about something else? If Obama has to correct the Chief Justice and remind the VP of his duties, is this a trend? Will he have to do everything? That would make for an interesting four years.