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LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...ge=2&track=rss

President Obama vigorously defended government's responsibility for the nation's most vulnerable citizens and castigated Republican plans to "end Medicare as we know it" as he moved to shape the burgeoning national debate over the federal deficit with his own mix of tax increases and spending cuts.

Hitting themes likely to figure prominently in his reelection campaign, Obama cast the debate with the Republicans in a moral framework. The GOP plan unveiled last week by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) offered a "deeply pessimistic" vision of the country that would fundamentally change the nation's social compact, he said. It would tell seniors and the poor, "tough luck — you're on your own."

While Ryan's approach would achieve its savings exclusively through deep cuts in the scope of government, Obama said he would narrow the deficit by closing tax loopholes and raising taxes on upper income Americans. Obama also wants to cut more deeply into military spending and would aim to hold down the cost of healthcare programs.

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To achieve the $4 trillion in deficit reductions, Obama would raise revenues by $1 trillion; cut $2 trillion in spending; and avoid $1 trillion in debt payments.

Obama wants to cut $400 billion from national security spending over 10 years. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates' staff said the secretary learned about that goal only on Tuesday.

Should the deficit reduction efforts miss their targets, Obama would step up the pace through a "debt fail-safe" mechanism that would be designed to trigger across-the-board spending cuts.

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The administration is also calling for the federal government to pressure drug companies to lower their prices for government healthcare programs, a move likely to be contested by pharmaceutical companies.