Manchin Lambastes Obama on Budget

It’s not just Republicans who find fault with President Barack Obama’s budget proposals. West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin hits Obama hard in the text of a speech he is set to deliver on the Senate floor Tuesday,  Politico reports.

“Why are we doing all this when the most powerful person in these negotiations – our president – has failed to lead this debate or offer a serious proposal for spending and cuts that he would be willing to fight for?” the freshman senator says. “I am asking President Obama to take this challenge head on and propose a compromise plan for dealing with the our nation’s fiscal challenges.”

To be sure, Manchin isn’t happy with Republican budget proposals either, calling them “partisan” and “unrealistic.”