Why Obama is happy to let GOP talk about deficits

Now, instead of tough talk, the president is offering stirring slogans. “Win the future” was the theme of his State of the Union address. “We do Big Things” is now on T-shirts available to Obama donors. “Startup America” was unveiled Monday to encourage entrepreneurs. If the first lady hadn’t taken “Let’s Move” for her anti-obesity campaign, it could have been used for the president’s push for high-speed rail.

The president has decided that he’ll let Republicans be the dour ones. A credible deficit-reduction plan is no longer a precondition for weeks of talk about plans for government investment. Let Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, do all that gloomy talking about the grim fiscal picture. As one GOP aide put it after the president’s State of the Union speech and Ryan’s official response: “He’s the optimistic one, and we’re the ones that want to lock up your children.”