President Obama is out there touting more "fiscal responsibility" by "trimming" $17 billion from a $3.5 trillion budget.  To put this in perspective...  If your family made $45,000 per year that is about $200 in savings over that year.  Not exactly a tremendous feat.  It is even less "tremendous" if you consider he includes some Dept of Defense cuts already announced by Secretary of Defense Gates in the $17 billion.  The GOP has commented on this showmanship, but the GOP better take it a step further and announce much larger cuts somewhere.  I believe Newt Gingrich had come out weeks ago saying he knew of $200 billion that could easily be cut off the top of his head.  Personally, the budget could likely be cut back to $2 to $2.5 trillion if the GOP had guts (Conservatism).  The federal government is way to big and doing things that should be left to states (Federalism).  The Dept of Education is way to big for instance.  The Dept of Education should only coordinate a common standard between states.  The states should be in control of their education otherwise.  The Dept of Transportation is another.  All this federal dept does is redistribute gas tax money to the states.  Why do we need it?  The states can control their own gas tax as they see fit.  The federal government should be significantly reduced and the states can take care of the rest.  Gov Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) in MN has shown some Conservative credentials here.  MN is a case where the state budget has exploded in the past 10 years.  Mostly due to Health and Human Services (welfare, etc...).  Pawlenty has mixed marks as a Conservative, but he is doing what needed to be done years ago.  Reining in government spending!