The AP Blows It

A recent Associated Press wire story titled "Bush plan would halve deficit in 5 years" is another case of bad headlining. The headline makes it seem that Bush's plans would actually cut the deficit in five years, but when in reality the AP is just taking the boasts of an administration official as a matter of fact. Deeper into the story, it's reported that:

In an interview, Joel Kaplan, deputy director of the White House budget office, provided few specifics about how the deficit would be cut in half.

Kaplan said Bush would achieve it ``by pursuing very aggressively his pro-growth economic policies, and by leading the Congress toward overall policies of fiscal restraint. And if the Congress adheres to those two programs, we'll be successful in halving the deficit from its '04 peak within that time period.''

The fact that no specifics are provided casts a lot of doubt on the claim that President's plan will actually do anything to bring the budget deficit under control, but unfortunately, the associated press bought the White House's hype and helped mislead its many readers.