Obama neither a deficit peacock nor hawk.

• Position: Barack Obama - YOUR LIFE - Brief article

Pres. Barack Obama is no deficit peacock, but neither is he a doctrinaire deficit hawk, suggests Michael Ettlinger, vice president for Economic Policy at the Center for American Progress, Washington, D.C. Ettlinger maintains that the President's new budget does more than just offer showy platitudinous feathers--it actually puts forth measures to start to rein in the massive Federal budget deficit while continuing to support needed investments in the fragile economy. Etllinger indicates that Pres. Obama understands the necessity of investing in the nation's future so U.S. companies and workers can compete globally in the 21st century.

These investments in programs have been proposed in the context of a difficult fiscal situation, Ettlinger points out. The Administration inherited a huge deficit from the Bush Administration--although Pres. Obama certainly has added to it--the result of lax cuts, failure to pay for two wars, and other unfunded spending, all exacerbated by the collapse of the economy in late...