Change We Can Count On

Remember presidential candidate Barack Obama’s repeated promise to “go through the federal budget, line-by-line, ending programs that we don’t need…”?

Remember President-elect Barack Obama’s promise to “go through our federal budget -– page by page, line by line –- eliminating those programs we don't need…”?

So are we now to believe that President Barack Obama believes that we need $1.8 million to research pig odor and manure management in Iowa?

Does he really believe that the Ted Kennedy Institute for the Senate is so important that we need to spend $5.8 million on it right now? How about $150,000 for Maine lobster research, or $657,000 for Brown Tree Snake Management in Guam? Does he believe it's absolutely essential that we spend $1.7 million for "Honey Bee lab" research, $1.5 million to study seals, or $215,000 to teach scientists how to communicate with the press?

Evidently Barack Obama believes that all of this is necessary. Either that or he believes that it’s just not politically expedient to actually do what he said he would do, because all of this and more - much, much more – is included in the $410 billion spending bill he signed yesterday.

Change We Can Count On? Better make that "Spending We Can Count On!"