Billows of Budget Blather, Through the Glass Darkly Now let's have a look at the part of the fiscal responsibility glass that is half empty Newly-minted OMB director Jim Nussle dropped his charm offensive as nominee like a rock yesterday, insisting that the president will fight for this $933 billion domestic discretionary topline, come what may from Congress. His rhetoric with reporters raised the specter of a government shutdown, to which he replied, "I don't choose to speculate about a train wreck." Instead, he sought to bring clarity and harmony to the discussions of when Congress and the White House will be able to come together and complete work on a budget for a fiscal year that begins in a dozen days, referring to how long a continuing resolution (CR) might be needed to tide them over and keep the government open during peace talks. "If you make the CR go all the way to Thanksgiving ... that provides different pressure points than if you make the CR just go for about a month. So where are the backstops to help produce pressure in order to help produce results, is really often what conversations [involve]." : Hard to say if this is empty talk... or if Nussle's glass is really full of it. It seems to be emitting smoke signals.