In today's Wall Street Journal, Chris Edwards and Alan Reynolds highlight the "mixed message" presented by the president's allegedly-tough, actually-profligate budget:

Consider the spending levels that President Bush proposed for 2005 in his first budget four years ago. He proposed that spending on education would be $83 billion in 2005. The new budget says that 2005 education spending will be $96 billion. Similarly, estimated 2005 spending on agriculture jumped from $14 billion to $31 billion, transportation from $61 billion to $68 billion, and international affairs from $21 billion to $32 billion.

And that's even with the administration's [wise] suggestion to close loopholes and limit farm subsidies to big, corporate farmers. Another important observation:

What is particularly corrosive is how the administration keeps expanding the scope of federal power into state and private activities. For example, the budget includes another $100 million to "promote healthy marriages" and $1.5 billion for a "high school initiative,"...

That "promote healthy marriages" item is particularly obnoxious. There may be plenty of unhealthy marriages in America, but I have little confidence the federal government can spend money to solve that problem.