On Deck, June 23, 2009

· Dems Ignore Obama Cuts (The Hill) Note: Congressional Democrats are largely ignoring President Obama’s $19.8 billion in budget cuts. The president proposed axing dozens of programs that he said were inefficient or ineffective, but members of the House Appropriations Committee are including the money for them. They are looking to cut elsewhere — and are targeting even some of Obama’s priorities. Democrats on the panel are, for example, leaving out $60 million required to close the prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba — one of Obama’s campaign promises.



· Confidence in Stimulus Plan Ebbs, Poll Finds Obama's Approval Rating Remains High, but Shift in Public Outlook Has Political Implications (Washington Post) Note: Barely half of Americans are now confident that President Obama's $787 billion stimulus measure will boost the economy, and the rapid rise in optimism about the state of the nation that followed the 2008 election has abated, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Overall, 52 percent now say the stimulus package has succeeded or will succeed in restoring the economy, compared with 59 percent two months ago. The falloff in confidence has been sharpest in the hard-hit Midwest, where fewer than half now see the government spending as succeeding. In April, six in 10 Midwesterners said the federal program had worked or would do so.