The chief of staff on Meet the Press two weeks ago:
So while he has talked about the need--and everybody I think from economists on the left to economists on the right realize that we must make critical investments at this time. And yes, they'll add to our obligation. It has got to be coupled with a serious attack about putting our fiscal house in order. And for too long that hasn't happened. Challenges that needed to be met, responsibilities that needed to be met have not. So from the era--from the area of, let's just say, in the defense area.
MR. GREGORY: Hm.
MR. EMANUEL: On an annual basis we have about $300 billion in cost overruns. That must be addressed, and we will be addressing it.
In fact, that $300 billion figure comes from 75 on-going programs -- it is not an annual number. But it is instructive to see how Emanuel and the Obama administration view the defense budget: comprised mainly of "cost overruns" that must be addressed. Remember when Obama said he was going to use a scalpel to excise waste from the government budget? Well, when it comes to defense it seems like his administration prefers a chainsaw. Something to keep in mind as journalists try and read the tea leaves of just how deep this administration will cut into defense spending while at the same time throwing hundreds of billions of dollars at social welfare programs that can't make it through the traditional legislative process.
