Obama Lives in 'Fiscal Fantasy World'

President Obama is trying to sound like he's turning tough on the deficit and federal spending in his State of the Union address, but Karl Rove isn't impressed and Americans shouldn't be, either. Obama has "rigged the game" by boosting discretionary domestic spending by more than $100 billion from George W. Bush's last budget and giving himself plenty of room to make cuts, Rove writes in the Wall Street Journal.

The administration is now angling to get it hands on yet more cash by diverting returned TARP funds to other government programs, Rove writes, calling on Republicans to win over worried independent voters by getting tougher on spending. "After a year of living in his fiscal fantasy world," Rove writes, "Americans realize they have a record deficit-setting, budget-busting spender on their hands. "
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