In what is reported to be a surprising vote on the budget in the House yesterday, the House GOP claimed victory by setting out their targets in budget cuts: "The bill, passed 217-215 after a 25-minute-long roll call, makes modest but politically painful cuts across an array of programs for the poor, students and farmers."

The original budget bill, which failed and apparently shocked the House-controlling GOP, "would slice almost $50 billion from the deficit by the end of the decade by curbing rapidly growing benefit programs such as Medicaid, food stamps and student loan subsidies."

I wished there was just one thing we could point to that accurately reflects the compassionate conservatism of the House GOP. Oh well; so it goes...