Obama and Walker - point, counterpoint

Pres. Obama Dives Back Into Wisconsin, Says Public Employees Being 'Vilified'
Public servants will agree with that. Democrats and republicans agree with that. In fact many public employees in your respective states have already agreed to cuts. But let me also say this, I don't think it does anybody any good when public employees are denigrated or vilified, or their rights are infringed upon. We need to attract the best and the brightest to public service. These times demand it. We're not gonna attract the best teachers for our kids, for example, if they only make a fraction of what other professionals make. We're not gonna convince the bravest Americans to put their lives on the line as police officers or firefighters if we don't properly reward that bravery. So yes we need a conversation about pensions and Medicare and Medicaid and other promises that we've made as a nation and those will be tough conversations but necessary conversations. As we make these decisions about our budget, going forward though, I believe that everyone should be at the table and that the concept of shared sacrifice should prevail. If all the pain's borne by only one group, whether its workers or seniors or the poor, while the wealthiest among us get to keep or get more tax breaks, we're not doing the right thing. I think that's something the democrats and the republicans should be able to agree on.

Obama Gets a Smackdown from Gov. Walker
Gov. Scott Walker on Monday afternoon responded to comments President Barack Obama made earlier in the day about the protests in Madison:

Walker's office issued this statement:

"I'm sure the President knows that most federal employees do not have collective bargaining for wages and benefits while our plan allows it for base pay. And I'm sure the President knows that the average federal worker pays twice as much for health insurance as what we are asking for in Wisconsin. At least I would hope he knows these facts.

"Furthermore, I'm sure the President knows that we have repeatedly praised the more than 300,000 government workers who come to work every day in Wisconsin.

"I'm sure that President Obama simply misunderstands the issues in Wisconsin, and isn't acting like the union bosses in saying one thing and doing another."