2010 SOTU: “families across the country r tightening thr belts + making tough decisions. The fed govt shld do the same. So tonight, I'm proposing specific steps to pay for the trillion dollars…it took to rescue the economy last year. Starting in 2011, we r prepared to freeze govt spending for 3 yrs”

obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-of... nobody forced him to make austerity a centerpiece of his agenda, or promote the worst economic intuitions about the relationship between households and govt spending. a leader makes choices.