Reply #8: At least, he saved Medicaid for a while, and hopefully Pell Grant.

[Mass]

(though there still could be in the commission recommendations).

But Medicare is on the chopping board. Why?

I think the fact that no democratic leaning columnist, from the most moderate to the left, is happy with this deal and the way Obama led this negotiation tells us a lot.

For a few good news (or at least not so bad news) here is Kevin Drum, who a few days ago, was taxed an Obama hater by some people on GDP

And what’s the less-bad news? There are a few noteworthy angles: (1) if the trigger kicks in, Medicaid and Social Security would be walled off and protected, and while the domestic cuts could affect Medicare, the cuts would be limited to Medicare providers, not beneficiaries; (2) triggered cuts for the 2012 fiscal year are practically non-existent, so it won’t hurt the economy in the short term; (3) a surprising amount of the overall deal targets the bloated Pentagon budget, which makes more painful domestic cuts less necessary; (4) there won’t be another debt-ceiling fight until 2013, giving the GOP one fewer hostages to grab for a while*.

At least those are a few things to be happy, but I wished the WH did not try to make us believe this is a good deal. Be honest. This would help swallow the pill. Let's just say I will not go on GDP today.