The article today, Tuesday, March 9,2009, on the Opinion page:

The Deficit Commission Trap

“President Obama has laid a political trap for Republicans with his allegedly bipartisan budget deficit commission, and the question is whether the GOP leadership on Capital Hill will fall for it…

“Now that they have raised federal sending as a share of GDP to 25% and don’t want to return to the 20.7% 40-year average Democrats are looking for political cover to pay for it…

“Mr. Obama has rigged the commission so Republicans are outnumbered by at least 10-8….

from the last paragraph of the editorial: “if Mr. Obama won’t oblige, Republicans will have further proof that his commission is a political exercise to expand the size of the federal government permanently to at least a quarter of the private economy -- even before the baby boomers retire in earnest.”

In brief, what the opinion article argues is that Mr. Gramm — who slowed the growth of spending in the 1980’s first as a Democrat and later as a Republican… he would be a good selection for the bipartisan budget deficit commission. As it stands, Obama can pick people not in Congress but the others do not have that option. Another example of rigging who gets selected.

I will look into how every day folks can access the Opinion page of the Wall Street Journal –