Hiding the Bad News Until More Bad News Passes

There's much upheaval on Capitol Hill today as the White House has decided to withhold an important budget report until after they cram nationalized health care through the Congress:

The White House is being forced to acknowledge the wide gap between its once-upbeat predictions about the economy and today's bleak landscape.

The administration's annual midsummer budget update is sure to show higher deficits and unemployment and slower growth than projected in President Barack Obama's budget in February and update in May, and that could complicate his efforts to get his signature health care and global-warming proposals through Congress.

The release of the update - usually scheduled for mid-July - has been put off until the middle of next month, giving rise to speculation the White House is delaying the bad news at least until Congress leaves town on its August 7 summer recess.

Why withhold this quarterly report? Obama wants a health care bill passed before the summer recess, and news that the budget mess is even worse than predicted (both by Obama and by real experts) will kill health care and cap-and-tax.

It's a hail Mary play and one that will backfire. The GOP will now have no reason to cooperated on either tax-raising bill as long as Obama is hiding the numbers.