What I Think President Obama Should Say About Deficits In His Forthcoming Debates With Governor Romney....

As a lifelong nerd, I have been interested in government deficits for decades.  Let's look at the present deficit situation for a moment, and let's do so in the context of the final two debates between President Obama and Governor Romney.  We know what Governor Romney will say--no taxes should be raised, and in fact taxes should be cut beyond their present levels for the wealthiest Americans in order to "stimulate" economic growth.  (This would most likely be accompanied by rather large spending cuts.)  So, what should President Obama say?

IF I WERE ONE OF HIS ADVISERS, I'D ASK HIM TO SAY SOMETHING LIKE THIS...

"The U.S. had budget surpluses in the final years of the Clinton presidency, and then ran up deficits again after the big tax cuts and accompanying tax loopholes that were first put in place between 2001 and 2003, and which are still in place.  Those deficits were compounded somewhat by foreign war spending.  They were compounded again by the recession--which began and worsened before my presidency--because fewer people had jobs and were able to pay into the system.  So, deficits started swelling quite a while ago, due in large part to decisions made even before they started to swell.

"If we are serious about lowering deficits, there are two ways of going about it during this recovery period:

"Option #1: We can make big cuts in government programs, such as future Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits, as well as to Pell grants, infrastructure spending, and the like.  This is likely to hit the middle class and those aspiring to get into the middle class far harder than it hits the wealthiest Americans.

"Option #2: We can make smaller but necessary cuts in government spending and raise revenue by raising the top-earner federal tax rate from where it is now (35%) to where it was during President Clinton's tenure (39.6%) and closing some tax loopholes.  This means raising taxes on only the top 2% of earners in the United States to put that rate in line with where it was from 1993 to 2001, when the economy was growing at a healthy rate.  It means allowing everyone else, including the entire middle class, to keep the tax cuts they have earned in my first term in office.

"Choosing either of the two methods I have outlined will lower the national deficit over time.

"Much of Europe has chosen something a lot like option #1 over the past two years.  Not coincidentally, the Eurozone has been mired in a double-dip recession for the last year or so.  We hope they are able to overcome it as quickly as possible.

"For our country, I choose option #2.  I think the majority of Americans would choose that option, as well."

That's what I'd suggest President Obama says--either all of it or most of it.  It takes-on the opposing viewpoint while still sounding presidential; it isn't overly aggressive, personal, or bumper-sticker in nature.  It's spirited without being mean-spirited.  I think people would appreciate hearing something like that.