(From the FT.com) President Barack Obama was on Tuesday facing a growing backlash from his liberal base in advance of Wednesday night’s State of the Union address in which he will make fiscal deficit reduction a top priority for his administration.
This shift, which appeared to be aimed at appeasing voters concerned about government spending following his party’s stinging defeat in last week’s Massachusetts Senate race, includes plans for a three-year partial domestic spending freeze.
However, the political difficulties of Mr Obama’s shift to the centre were already apparent on Tuesday, with liberal Democrats reacting angrily to the president’s new focus on fiscal discipline and Republicans saying it was too little, too late.
Read more here: Obama faces backlash on spending freeze