Balancing the Budget, Honestly

There was a moment in the CNN-YouTube Republican debate last night when Fred Thompson gave as honest an answer as I think you'll ever hear from a politician on reducing federal spending.

Asked what three programs he would cut to help balance the budget, Thompson responded this way:

The problem is that most of the programs we talk about, the ones that get the headlines, would not begin to solve the problem. ... That's why I have laid out a program not to attack entitlements, but to save Social Security. ... Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are the ones we're really going to have to reform if we're going to make any headway on the spending.