Hilarious headline of the day:

"Obama Seeks Fiscal Responsibility Mantle." I am not kidding....here's the article. This is rich...sort of like the headline you will never see: "McDonald's seeks 'Health Food King' Title."

In Washington, there's no such thing as a full-time deficit hawk, or full-time fiscal responsibility advocate. People generally only take these positions when their party is out of power. When they get in power, they spend our money like lunatics in a determined effort to stay in power. Obama is no different.

I am glad that at least Obama says he is focused on it...that's better than Dick "Deficits Don't Matter" Cheney...but the reality is that spending will only be curbed when the lenders decide to change the terms (demanding higher interest rates, or refusing to buy our bonds at any price, etc.) Meantime, the interest on our national debt will continue to grow and grow until it eats everything its path.

The underlying problem, of course, is most of us. Who would vote for a politician who says, "I am going to fix Social Security by raising the retirement age by six months every year for the next 16 years." The AARP would destroy him/her in about one week.

What if a politician promised to stop obscene retirement packages for certain public sector workers that can kick in when someone is in their 40's or 50's, and that last a lifetime? The unions would crush the candidate in about the wink of an eye.

Who would vote for a politician who said, "I am going to balance the US budget, and here's how." I won't venture percentage guesses...but obviously not enough to get elected.