debate. it must be taken as what it is. a compromise between existing poles. so howard fineman, is tomorrow's budget from the president just a final compromise? >> i'm trying to remember where those poles are positioned. i think that jared bernstein is wrong in this case and i think he is a very smart guy. he is an economist though. while he might know a lot about politics, i think the president's budget is realistically basically the perimeter of realistic democratic proposals. and as such, i think it is off the mark. not only as a piece of political strategy but as a piece of economics as well. the statistics over the weekend about the work force, the fact that we now have the lowest work force participation rate since 1979 should indicate to some people that there should be more in this budget in terms of