Obama Spending Freeze Another Phony Photo Op

President Obama is poised to initiate a spending freeze on "domestic spending."

The three-year plan will be part of the budget Obama will submit Feb. 1, senior administration officials said, commenting on condition of anonymity to reveal private details.

On the surface, which is how most people look at these things, it sounds good. Liberals are apoplectic about the plan, which has to be good. But, a quick look at the numbers shows that this -- yet again -- might be a Barack Obama phony photo-op.

The savings would be small at first, perhaps $10 billion to $15 billion, one official said. But over the coming decade, savings would add up to $250 billion.

Now, $15 billion off the annual budget is a lot of money, no doubt; but when you consider that the federal budget for 2009 was $3.5 trillion. You do the math; too many zeros for me.

The proposals (Obama) described won't create jobs, but he said they could "re-establish some of the security that's slipped away."

That's certainly good news for the more than 15 million people out of work. I am sure they all will feel more "secure" when the late fees on bills add up, the cancellation notices appear, the foreclosure warnings start; with the sheriff knocking on the door, take heart that Obama has taken out his scalpel, left the hatched behind, and plans to nick 0.004% off his spending next year. I think that is roughly equivalent to the average family clipping a coupon to get a free box of Cheerios.

Obama's Pledge to Cut $100m Is "One Day's Interest" On Stimulus Spending

During the campaign, President Obama promised that he and his cabinet would go "line-by-line" through the federal budget, looking for ways to save money.

That is why I will ask my new team to think anew and act anew to meet our new challenges.... We will go through our federal budget – page by page, line by line – eliminating those programs we don’t need, and insisting that those we do operate in a sensible cost-effective way.

In April, Obama boldly announced that his cost-cutting efforts would save $100 million, and in a mere 90-days (six months into his presidency), the administration would produce a report itemizing the results of these heroic efforts to guard our tax dollars.

"We've got to earn their trust. They've got to feel confident that their dollars are being spent wisely."

Well, 90 days has come and there is no report in sight. Not the best way to earn our trust.

Another way to earn our trust is to stop aggrandizing your desire to cut costs. Obama is patting himself on the back for saving $100 million -- out of a $3.6 trillion budget! His campaign pledge to delve line-by-line saved a whopping 3%.

Obama increased federal spending by $500 billion over President Bush's last bloated budget, then brags about cutting a measly 3%.

As expected, the White House is always open to its critics.

"Only in Washington, D.C., is $100 million not a lot of money," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

In the context of a $3 trillion dollar budget, an $800 billion "stimulus" bill, a $90 billion "supplemental" budget, a $1.5 trillion health care proposal, and innumerable bailouts, $100 million dollars in cost-cutting is not a lot of money. But, it is a huge insult to the American taxpayer.

Senator Mitch McConnell said it best:

"Any amount of savings is obviously welcome," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said in April. "But [$100 million is] about the average amount we'll spend every single day just covering the interest on the stimulus package that we passed earlier this year."