On defense cuts, Obama holds cards

Congressional Democrats opposing President Obama’s sweeping changes to the military budget, which would scrap several high-profile weapons programs like the F-22, could be in a bind.  Voting to restore programs could weaken Obama politically and anger their leaders, while cutting them could distress local voters. “The politics have become draconian for the Democrats, especially the ones who want to add money for hardware programs. They are kind of boxed in,” said Ploughshares grantee Gordon Adams. In a piece for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, William Hartung of the Ploughshares-funded New America Foundation argues for cutting the F-22 program for economic and military reasons.