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After adding over $2 trillion to the national debt in just 16 months, the White House is suddenly finding it useful to appear fiscally responsible in an election year. Yesterday, the President proposed the Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act, which would grant him the power to send wasteful spending back to Congress to be given a mandatory up or down vote on its elimination. The problem with Obama’s abrupt conversion to the worship of thrift is that he, along with the Democrats in Congress, refused to grant President Bush the same authority in 2007. The Washington Times reports that back when then-Sen. Barack Obama joined in a filibuster against a similar measure; the democratic leadership did not have many kind words for the proposal.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat who in 2006 said he liked the idea of a line-item veto "about like I like a bad sore throat," was far from encouraging Monday. . . House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer, the Maryland Democrat who is now majority leader, blasted the Bush proposal. He excoriated Mr. Bush for not using his regular veto powers and blamed Republicans for ballooning spending. . . "It is a ruse, it is a fraud, it is a sham," he said.

OMB Director Peter Orszag justified the change of heart by noting that “the fiscal context has changed.” That fiscal context includes the President’s $862 billion unfunded stimulus bill, a $2.5 trillion health care debacle and a 2011 budget that adds $12.8 trillion to the debt by 2020. In the face of that level of binge spending, The Washington Times goes on to note, the President’s proposal will be essentially worthless.

Analysts said the enhanced authority wouldn't have a big impact for a government that will spend close to $4 trillion this year, and suggested the timing is more about providing cover for a potential $200 billion spending and tax-cut-extensions bill Congress will try to pass this week. . . A good indicator of the potential scope is the package of cuts the president submits each year with his proposed budget. That package typically runs between $10 billion and $20 billion, or about half of 1 percent of all federal spending.

With the weight of his fiscal irresponsibility threatening vulnerable incumbents this fall, President Obama is now more than willing to play politics with any proposal that might rescue his beleaguered majority. But there is no reason to trust that this latest ruse will do anything to rein in the reckless spending that Obama and the Democrats are intent on pursuing.