Obama won't come close on pledge to halve deficit, CBO says

President Obama's pledge to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term will fall short, according to the latest economic outlook released Tuesday by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

The president said in February 2009 that the $1.3 trillion deficit he inherited would be cut in half under his budget blueprint, but according to the CBO, the deficit in 2012 will continue to hover around $1 trillion, and fall to just under $1 trillion next year if current tax laws are extended, as expected. An overall sluggish economy is expected to continue with unemployment stuck around 8% through 2013.

Obama's deficit-cutting goal fell short in part because of opposition to his support of a tax increase on the wealthiest of Americans. Congressional Republicans used the report to criticize Obama's economic policies.

"Today's report is further confirmation that the president's record has failed to live up to his rhetoric," said Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama's policies are working.

"I know that the economic policies that this President has put into place, working with Congress and then, when necessary, without Congress, have had the effect of reversing the most dramatic negative trend in employment since the Great Depression," Carney said.

The CBO outlook makes clear that congressional gridlock has played a key role in explaining why the long-term fiscal picture remains bleak. (In other words, not raising our taxes instead of cutting spending kept Obama from keeping his pledge)

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