Obama Warns About Social Security/Medicare Expenses

No way! Obama takes on the geezer lobby. From AP:

Pointing with concern to "red ink as far as the eye can see," President-elect Barack Obama pledged Wednesday to tackle out-of-control Social Security and Medicare spending and named a special watchdog to clamp down on other federal programs — even as he campaigned anew to spend the largest pile of taxpayer money in history to revive the sinking economy.

The steepness of the fiscal mountain he'll face beginning Jan. 20 was underscored by stunning new figures: an estimate that the federal budget deficit will reach $1.2 trillion this year, by far the biggest ever, even without the new stimulus spending.

Best of luck, sir, the grey panthers at the most powerful lobby in Washington (the AARP) will probably want your kneecaps broken. But with Social Security and Medicare having a combined expense of well over $1T for FY09, it seems like a good place to start to pull the federal deficit out of the shits.