democrats say maintaining social security and medicare benefits is more important than reducing the deficit. and a whopping 87% say social security is good for the country, 88% say medicare is good for the country. talking about budget cuts in medicare and social security is a very different thing from actually doing that. the president is gambling that he can talk about budget cuts in social security and medicare during the debt ceiling standoff to score points for reasonableness but never have to actually execute those cuts and pay the obvious political price for cutting popular programs. as long as the republicans refuse to negotiate on taxes, the president knows he can make the occasional soft focus comment on what he calls
actually execute those cuts and pay the obvious political price for cutting popular programs. as long as the republicans refuse to negotiate on taxes, the president knows he can make the occasional soft focus comment on what he calls adjustments to medicare and social security and stress how difficult it is for him, as a democrat, to even talk about that, but then never actually have to do anything about it. for a politician in the middle of a reelection campaign talking about tough choices and never having to actually make them is the perfect place to be. president obama and the house republicans are each doing exactly what the obama reelection campaign needs them to do. joining me now is david frum, the founder of frumforum.com, thanks for joining me tonight, david. you should be answering
balanced approach to deficit reduction, and 62% of people say the republicans should agree to a balanced approach, including some tax revenue increases. everything the president has said and continues to say about the debt ceiling and deficit reduction is designed to appeal to independent and swing voters who will always hope that the president can find some sort of middle ground, some reasonable middle ground compromise with republicans. some of what the president has said about deficit reduction, about spending cuts in medicare and social security specifically, has troubled some liberal obama supporters who are hanging on the president s every word. medicare and social security cuts are unpopular throughout the political spectrum. a poll released this month by the pew research center found 50% of republicans, 53% of independents, and 72% of democrats say maintaining social
autonomy, the more doctors will be looking at a computer screen telling them what the protocol for a certain treatment is. the system will be squeezed, but it is so bloated. 60% more allows for a lot of pressure that doesn t necessarily touch patients until you get well below until you re getting down to levels constituents seem to spend. we disagree how easy it is to cut medicare. i sat in a room in 1983 with finance committee staff and we pulled out $200 billion in medicare cuts. that included tax increases and deficit reduction accomplished through medicare cuts, and in doing it, i have to tell you, dave, it was a very painful and difficult thing to do. it was all taken out of the provider side. the other thing about it politically is, it was done without a peep. there was not a single liberal objection anywhere in the senate
as long as the republicans refuse to negotiate on taxes, the president knows he can make the occasional soft focus comment on what he calls adjustments to medicare and social security and stress how difficult it is for him, as a democrat, to even talk about that, but then never actually have to do anything about it. for a politician in the middle of a reelection campaign talking about tough choices and never having to actually make them is the perfect place to be. president obama and the house republicans are each doing exactly what the obama reelection campaign needs them to do. joining me now is david frum, the founder of frumforum.com, thanks for joining me tonight, david. you should be answering questions tonight. that was a very acute analysis.