Dean Baker: Obama and Romney Are Politicians, Not Visionaries

[marmar]

Published on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 by Common Dreams
Obama and Romney Are Politicians, Not Visionaries

by Dean Baker


There is a dangerously painful story line that is being propagated about a presidential race between President Obama and Mitt Romney. The line is that this will be a contest over competing visions for the country. In this story the alternative visions are outlined in the competing budgets put forward by President Obama and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, which Governor Romney has embraced.

The story of competing visions is a cute fairy tale for people who don't know anything about Washington and American politics. For adults who have not newly arrived from some foreign country, this line is just silly.

President Obama and Governor Romney are politicians, not philosophers. They have not made it to the top of the political ladder because of their grand visions of the future. They got their positions by appealing to powerful political actors who were able to give them the money and/or votes needed to get ahead.

The absurdity of the competing visions story is apparent to anyone who has looked at the Ryan budget. According to the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) analysis of Representative Ryan's budget, which was prepared under his direction, the budget would shrink all non-Social Security and non-health care spending to 3.75 percent of GDP by 2050. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/04/10-0

[Enrique]

1. he might be thinking of this Salon article

among others:

http://www.salon.com/2012/04/08/obama_v_romney_the_philosopher_candidates/

Obama v. Romney: The philosopher candidates
Not since the New Deal have two candidates embodied the parties' philosophical divide as much as Romney and Obama

I love Baker's line at the end

So why don't "neutral" reporters just tell us what the budget does -- it gives tax cuts to the rich and guts programs that benefit the middle class and the poor. The stuff about "vision" is just nonsense to tell children and Washington pundits.

[xchrom]

2. Du rec. Nt