For anyone concerned about the federal budget and how the country will address the long-term challenges of Social Security and Medicare, elections are always a treacherous time. Across political lines, candidates face pressure (and the temptation) to over-promise good things like tax cuts and services and avoid bad things like having to make tough choices.

Right now, at least, Americans' appetite for government programs exceeds their willingness to pay taxes to support them or, to put it another way, their fondness for tax cuts outstrips their willingness to tolerate cuts in spending. There is a genuine challenge here building the level of public understanding and public will needed to make progress in this area.

And on this very theme, two articles that appeared this week offer some intriguing commentary on what's happening in the Presidential campaigns to date. Both are well worth a read:

Blue Dogs Look Beyond '08 Election
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/10999.html [1]

Give Us Something To Talk About: The Presidential Candidates Aren't Serious About The Budget

http://www.slate.com/id/2193223/ [2]

Another don't miss this week on the federal budget comes from Andrew Yarrow, author of "Forgive Us Our Debts: The Intergenerational Dangers of Fiscal Irresponsibility," in an Op Ed piece raising the question of morality:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.debt10jun10,0,7237887.story [3]