President Bush is in full swing with his new get-tough approach to the budget, and that’s great. But his team needs to work out the inconsistencies in his message. Here are some bites from the president’s speech today in Indiana:

“The majority [in Congress] was elected on a pledge of fiscal responsibility, but so far it’s acting like a teenager with a new credit card … To them, every bill on the floor is an opportunity for a tax hike. Congress has proposed tax increases in the farm bill, the energy bill, the small business bill, and the children’s health bill. If you find a bill that doesn’t have a tax increase, just wait a while — they’ll put one in there.”

The Democrats are matching their big spending with big tax hikes, while Bush just wants to spend and pass the tab onto the next generation. So isn’t Bush more like the teenager with the credit card?

Then there is the ongoing problem of lambasting the Dems for big spending, while demanding ever more for the war, yet without offering any substantial budget cuts for offsets. The president continues:

“When it comes to taxes and spending, they don’t have a very good record, but here’s a good way to start, is to make sure that Congress passes the war supplemental funds we need …”

I applaud the president’s record of opposing all tax hikes, and support his new interest in vetoing spending bills to save a few dimes here and there. But it just sounds silly to put statements like this in his speeches because nobody believes them:

“As we debate the [economic] decisions, you got to understand there are two very different philosophies being played out. My philosophy is that the American people know how to spend their money better than the government can. That’s the core of my philosophy…”