Give him points for seriousness about the federal budget. As the Times reports,

Mr. Obama’s budget deserves credit for its candor. It does not sugarcoat, at least excessively, the potential magnitude of the problem. President George W. Bush kept claiming, until near the end of his presidency, that he would leave office with a balanced budget. He never got close; in fact, the deficits soared in his last years.

Mr. Obama has published the 10-year numbers in part, it seems, to make the point that the political gridlock of the past few years, in which most Republicans refuse to talk about tax increases and Democrats refuse to talk about cutting entitlement programs, is unsustainable…

This kind of budget honesty was typical of Bill Clinton as well. When will voters start recognizing the Democrats as the party of fiscal credibility?

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* Part of a series of posts recognizing that, however imperfect he may be, Barack Obama deserves our support—not our impatience and short attention spans.