MAYBE BARACK IS SWAHILI FOR BUSH?:

Campaign Pledges Collide With New Fiscal Reality (JONATHAN WEISMAN, 2/20/09, WSJ)

Mr. Obama spent Thursday reassuring Canadians that his campaign talk of reopening the North American Free Trade Agreement would not actually impede free trade. His budget writers are struggling to square promises of rolling back George W. Bush's tax cuts with combating the recession. One campaign applause line -- about ending tax quirks that he said encourage U.S. corporations to move jobs overseas -- is facing a wall of opposition from companies pleading for relief in a global downturn. [...]

In Mr. Obama's budget blueprint, set for release Thursday, he is almost certain to wait until 2011 to allow tax rates to go up on families earning at least $250,000, according to congressional aides and lobbyists discussing budget matters with the administration. That decision would come despite the urgings of prominent allies, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), who say an immediate rollback of some Bush tax cuts would show resolve on a deficit heading toward $2 trillion.