Obama slams Bush budget 'dishonesty'
By: Craig Gordon and Josh Gerstein
Politico
February 23, 2009
President Barack Obama opened Monday’s economic summit by taking aim at the “casual dishonesty” of Bush administration budgets Monday, saying he’ll abandon accounting “tricks” used to hide the ballooning deficit and pledging to cut a $1.3 trillion federal shortfall in half during his first term.
By the summit’s close, Obama was trying for a more bipartisan approach, presiding over an extraordinary session where he took questions and comments directly from lawmakers. He started the proceedings by calling on his presidential rival Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who questioned why the new presidential helicopters cost as much as Air Force One.
“I don’t think there is any more graphic demonstration of how good ideas have cost taxpayers enormous amounts of money,” McCain told Obama.
Obama quickly agreed, saying he’d ordered a review of the program, whose cost has soared form $6.1 billion to $11.2 billion. “The helicopter I have now seems perfectly adequate to me,” the president said to laughter. “Of course, I’ve never had a helicopter before. Maybe I’ve been deprived and I didn’t know it.”
(More here.)
Politico
February 23, 2009
President Barack Obama opened Monday’s economic summit by taking aim at the “casual dishonesty” of Bush administration budgets Monday, saying he’ll abandon accounting “tricks” used to hide the ballooning deficit and pledging to cut a $1.3 trillion federal shortfall in half during his first term.
By the summit’s close, Obama was trying for a more bipartisan approach, presiding over an extraordinary session where he took questions and comments directly from lawmakers. He started the proceedings by calling on his presidential rival Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who questioned why the new presidential helicopters cost as much as Air Force One.
“I don’t think there is any more graphic demonstration of how good ideas have cost taxpayers enormous amounts of money,” McCain told Obama.
Obama quickly agreed, saying he’d ordered a review of the program, whose cost has soared form $6.1 billion to $11.2 billion. “The helicopter I have now seems perfectly adequate to me,” the president said to laughter. “Of course, I’ve never had a helicopter before. Maybe I’ve been deprived and I didn’t know it.”
(More here.)
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