In his proposed $2.4 trillion budget, the President has proposed to shave $4.9 billion off of our half-trillion dollar federal deficit by cutting or terminating 128 federal programs. We applaud the President for waking up and smelling the budget deficit. But, we'd like to see him trade in his paring knife for a machete and start slashing some big-ticket behemoths.

Some of the proposed cuts make a lot of sense, such as the $170 million Advanced Technology Program, which is a corporate welfare slush fund for hi-tech companies. But, other cuts don't seem too wise, including those to teen alcohol abuse programs and lead hazard reductions.

But, most of the proposed cuts have very little bang for the buck. Targeting our cleavers at less than 18% of the total federal pie makes it more difficult to save money and thereby cut the deficit. None of the proposed cuts follow through on the administration's promise to transform the military and cut Cold War relics. This budget continues to fund the production of new fighter planes, helicopters, and missile defense projects that were designed to fight enemies that no longer exist.

The administration and Congress need to focus on military programs, where a few cuts can go a long way. Take for example, the F/A-22 Raptor, which is a costly Cold War relic that was initially designed to deeply penetrate Soviet airspace by avoiding radar and traveling at supersonic speed. Without even taking all of the cost and production problems into consideration, it seems as though someone forgot to tell the F/A-22's biggest proponents that the Cold War is over and there really is no country that comes close to competing with our nation's air superiority. If the administration decided to cut the spending for this outdated jet fighter, it would save taxpayers a whopping $4.7 billion

Another is the National Missile Defense. National Missile Defense might look good on paper, but in practice, the $10 billion cost weighs in as the largest single weapons project on the '05 budget- nearly twice as large as its nearest competitor. While a system that could work would be worth having, the administration is rushing to test a program that is rife with design flaws. Shaquille O'Neal has a better chance of making a free throw than this thing has of hitting a missile.

The President is proposing to increase Pentagon spending by more than $20 billion over last year. This doesn't even include the $50 billion that he'll need to ask for later this year to pay for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pentagon officials expect spending to exceed $490 billion by 2009, a $90 billion increase over this year. The administration needs to be much more ambitious with its cuts or there really isn't a chance that the deficit will get smaller.

A strong nation defense doesn't just appear from throwing gobs of money at anachronistic weapons programs. A stronger safer nation is built by spending responsibly on the priorities that matter and not just padding the pockets of defense contractors.

By ignoring the beefier portions of the federal budget while he nickles and dimes us with smaller spending cuts, the administration is fiddling around the edges, and letting the budget burn. We need bold leadership for America to help lead us out of this deficit era, or we will see deficits much bigger than the ones today.