Following the comments in the recent diaries criticizing President Obama’s budget proposal in which he puts entitlement cuts on the table, it occurred to me that those defending his actions typically rely on a fairly circumscribed set of arguments. In the interest of facilitating discussions, I hereby propose the following list of numbered excuses for those wishing to defend President Obama from criticism. Instead of writing sentences and paragraphs, all they need to do is refer to the actions under discussion and just list the relevant excuses by number. Any additions to this list of short cuts are welcomed.
Excuse #1. It’s Kabuki theater.
Excuse #2. He’s playing n-dimensional chess. (where “n” = any number greater than 7)
Excuse #3.a. It’s a trial balloon.
Excuse #3.b. He hasn’t proposed it yet.
Excuse #3.c. It hasn’t happened yet.
Excuse #4. It’s a trap for Republicans.
Excuse #5. He’s smarter than you.
Excuse #6. It’s the Republicans’ fault.
Excuse #7. He’s not perfect.
Excuse #8. Too bad he doesn’t meet your expectations.
Excuse #9. Look at how much he’s accomplished.
Excuse #10. He’s just being pragmatic.
Excuse #11. He the adult in the room.
Excuse #12. Obama.
Hope this helps!
12:49 PM PT: Adding a few additional excuses based on the comments. Thanks to those who directly or indirectly suggested them:
Excuse #13. He knows things we don't know.
Excuse #14. He's better than Romney (or McCain).
Excuse #15. This isn't what it appears to be.