Why are Dems crowing about this?  To counter the GOP's claims that Obama and the Democrats are spenders, of course.  Which, if they are at all successful in doing, will be a hollow victory that may spell electoral success, but will also mean continued economic lassitude if not recession.

And Obama is still out there saying he wants more deficit reduction - he's still got kind of a hard-on for some kind of Grand Bargain.  What worries me is that this is a message that's going to have to be maintained right up to the election, and guess what's also looming?  The expiration of the Bush tax cuts and raising the debt ceiling.  

I get that the Dems are trying to box the GOP into a losing electoral strategy, but is no one considering the price most of us are going to pay for that?  Given how Dems have handled this in the recent past, what is your best and most honest guess about what these Democrats are going to do?

What I would like to hear is a loud, unequivocal and constant message from Dems and Obama that social safety net programs are categorically off the table; there was no hesitation about Dems taking Bush impeachment off the table, or taking accountability for the Bush/Cheney actions off the table, or taking single-payer off the table; shouldn't the least they be able to do is take these programs off the table?

My fear is that they will reject the extremes of what the GOP wants to do, and sell their own approach as the sane, sensible one that will nevertheless be the beginning of the end of these programs as we've known them - and not in a good way.

Otherwise the news that matters is already long in the can  -- three and a half years of sluggish and far too meager economic recovery under Obama with a Repub opposition determined not to help O improve the situation, combined with aggressive GOP voter suppression laws in enough key states.  The latter item has gone somewhat underreported and underemphasized by the O campaign team and will likely mean the difference between a very narrow victory despite the economy and a close loss, which I predicted weeks ago would occur.

There are several indicators, in my view, that give some optimism, such as improvement in sales of existing homes (up by about 3.4% in April) as well as home prices up about 10 percent from a year ago. Last month, car sales, often a good indicator,  also showed modest growth. A dampening of the Iran hysteria appears to be stabilizing or easing the upward march in gas prices.

Jobs remain a big concern, but a better explanation needs to be offered of the impact of state and local austerity upon public employees and public services along with arguments for federal funding in their temporary support.

I am actually surprised when I looked at the polls how well Obama is doing when you break it down to the swing states.  Yes, Florida looks bad for Obama right now, but it's no worse than VA for Romney.

For most of the second half of the last century America enjoyed steady growth, full employment, and low inflation. Our schools were the envy of the world, and most everyone looked at the future with optimism. The rich got richer, but the middle class did too, and the poor were on our radar with paths to elevate their situation. So, what happened?

At some point, coinciding with Reagan's election in the early 80's, the Rich saw an opportunity to increase the rate of their wealth accumulation. They rapidly consolidated their capture of all the organs of Government and the need to produce "things" gave way to producing "financial instruments," and fulfilling their biblical heritage as "Money Changers."
The Rich went through a period of parabolic wealth accumulation, while the Middle class's progress stopped.

Now, having squeezed countless trillions of dollars from the middle and lower classes, we have a "deficit problem." Untold wealth to the plutocrats, and broken lives, emptied bank accounts, and smashed futures for the rest

The Oligarchs of Europe and America know that none of their idiotic plans can possibly work. But, that's not their goal. Their goal is to confiscate the last hidden crumbs the 99% may have so that their dream of a true 21st century Serfdom becomes a reality.

I've said forever that those 1 percenters aren't real Americans. They have palaces in half a dozen countries. They couldn't care less about the welfare of America's people. Do you need a better example than our latest Billionaire, the co-founder of face book, relinquishing his citizenship so as not to pay his fair share to the country that nurtured him all along? Just read the news and see how the "job creators" make their money. 1% were given inside information regarding the "pump'n dump" Facebook IPO Scam, and made a fortune, while the rest of the suckers will waste a decade trying to break even.

That's the issue; not gay marriage, the ACA mandate, or the deficit. How hard would it be for Obama to tell this story? It practically tells itself.

and another good article from McClatchy on the same subject

A Pakistani doctor who helped the U.S. track down Osama bin Laden was sentenced to 33 years in prison on Wednesday for conspiring against the state, officials said, a verdict that is likely to further strain the country's relationship with Washington

We even had a column here in GA about it and a cautionary tale to the GOP about embracing "austerity".

They've run out of other peope's money and what they've done is raise taxes and not really cut spending but not spend more.

In reality it's a problem of they've spent and borrowed so much while tying their currencies together and have no flexibility to make the fiscal changes needed.

The lesson for America is not that reigning in federal spending is bad but instead continued deficits with no plans to pay off the debt lead to fiscal reckonings with no good solutions.