There is something vaguely comical about this report: “The White House is considering a bipartisan commission to tackle the nation’s swelling deficit, as it seeks to show resolve on a problem that threatens its broader agenda.” So as the White House and Congress — the real government — spend and tax us into oblivion, they are also planning to set up a shadow government to behave responsibly and counteract the damage the elected leaders are inflicting on us.

When you hear that they want to bring “Republicans and Democrats together to make tough decisions about how to cut costs or raise revenue in areas including Social Security, Medicare and taxes” or that the White House thinks this will “show that the Obama administration is serious about tackling the deficit while postponing any real moves until after the 2010 elections,” you have to marvel at the low regard with which they hold the voters.

Apparently, the urge to do all this heavy lifting themselves, beginning with a plan to halt the march of the hugely irresponsible ObamaCare, is one easily stifled. And they expect that the public will actually give them credit for shirking their responsibility to govern. Sen. Judd Gregg isn’t buying any of  it: “You’ve got to look at their actions, not their words, and their actions are to massively expand the government.” And if the White House and the Congress were really serious about halting that massive expansion, they wouldn’t be spending nearly all of their time on a government takeover of health care. But maybe the voters won’t notice, right? Hmm. I think they’ve got that one wrong.