Well, they are our number one expense. If one is serious about restoring fiscal sanity then nothing can be off the table.
Defense is no longer the number one expense. In the planned 2009 budget, defense was 23% and entitlements 56%. Most of the added spending by Dims this year were not in the defense area.
Second to Social Security, actually. But not by much. And I agree that nothing, but nothing can be off the table. The fact of the matter is if you elimnated every dollar of discretionary spending in the 2010 budget except Defense, Homeland Security, and Veteran's Affairs, you would still be running a trillion dollar deficit. So I agree with you and Paul in this area. If we are to get government spending back into balance then there can be no sacred cows, no exempt programs, and nothing off the table. That includes discretionary as well as non-discretionary spending.