Obama Signs 'Imperfect' Spending Bill

clipped from news.yahoo.com Acknowledging it's an "imperfect" bill, President Barack Obama said Wednesday he will accept a $410 billion spending package that includes billions in earmarks like those he promised to curb in last year's campaign. But he insisted the bill must signal an "end to the old way of doing business." The massive measure funding federal agencies through the fall contains nearly 8,000 pet projects, known as earmarks and denounced by critics as pork. "I am signing an imperfect omnibus bill because it's necessary for the ongoing functions of government," Obama declared. "But I also view this as a departure point for more far-reaching change." White House officials in recent weeks have dismissed criticism of the earmarks in the bill, saying the legislation was a remnant of last year and that the president planned to turn his attention to future spending instead of looking backward.

The problem with pork is that the definition is always "stuff those other guys want." Pork is never the money your guy brings to your state or district. And earmarks aren't really the problem -- all they do is allocate funding that's already been approved. It's a way to split up the money, not the way you run up the bill.

Still, how many people will buy Obama's "it's not my fault" defense is an open question.