Who will the Obama re-elect campaign blame if the economy tanks next year?

First the Republicans, rather brilliantly, psyched the President into accepting a smaller stimulus than was needed, thus ensuring that our economic recovery was weak at best, and setting the GOP up to claim that the stimulus was a waste of money (ignoring that the stimulus didn't do its job because the GOP forced it to be too small).

And now the Republicans have convinced the President to accept massive long-term budget cuts, to the tune of $4 trillion - sucking massive demand out of the economy - just as the already weak economic recovery shows signs of sputtering.  And what will the GOP message be next year when the President runs for re-election?  Obama failed to save the economy.  (When in fact, the GOP tricked Obama into damaging our already weak recovery, in order to damage his re-election.)

What's the President going to say in November of 2012 when unemployment is still too high?   The Republicans aren't to blame when the President gladly jumps on their economic bandwagon.  And forget about the election for a second.  As someone who last year made only 1/3 of the income I made the year before the economy crashed, I'm personally interested in knowing how cutting $4 trillion in spending puts me and every other American back on their feet.

Because it doesn't.

The irony is that the Republicans have convinced the American people, and the President, that the deficit is our number one problem.  But once the deficit is "fixed," no one will care come the election if unemployment hasn't dropped and earnings haven't increased.  Worried about putting food on the table?  The deficit is fixed!

Sigh.