Obama Now Talking Like a Republican

The way President Obama is talking lately, it sounds an awful lot like he's accepted the "economic fallacies" of Republicans, writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times. He seems more concerned about cutting the deficit and slashing spending than creating jobs. It's possible this is part of some grand political strategy, but Krugman is skeptical. "It’s getting harder and harder to trust Mr. Obama’s motives in the budget fight, given the way his economic rhetoric has veered to the right."

Obama even trotted out the tired GOP notion that the government must balance its budget just as families must, writes Krugman. "On the contrary, trying to balance the budget in times of economic distress is a recipe for deepening the slump." Assuming a deal emerges, Democrats will be asked to trust that it was the best one possible. "But it’s hard to see why a president who has gone out of his way to echo Republican rhetoric and endorse false conservative views deserves that kind of trust." (More President Obama stories.)