Obama’s Budget-Boost For Military Spending Points To Brewing National Security Debate: WaPo

According to the Washington Post, the battle over the budget that President Obama will submit Monday is emerging as a proxy for the 2016 presidential election debate on national security.

The president will ask Congress to break through its own spending caps — commonly referred to as “sequestration” — and allocate about $561 billion for Pentagon expenditures, about $38 billion more than is currently allowed under the law.

There’s broad consensus in both parties that the military needs more money to modernize its forces and meet its responsibilities.  For now, though, it’s unclear how Congress and the White House can come to an agreement on where to find the additional funds.

The situation could provide an opening for Republicans to make an argument that they are the party best positioned to keep the country safe.

“A lot of Republicans see opportunity in an election that’s a referendum on Obama’s foreign policy,” said Danielle Pletka, vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

Predictable: Spectacular Revival In French President’s Popularity

Similar to George Bush after 9/11, French president Francois Hollande is seeing a spectacular revival in his dismal popularity ratings after the terror attacks in Paris earlier this month.

According to sources, two major surveys yesterday showed French voters applauding his handling of the country’s most deadly Islamist attacks.

The boost for Hollande and his government, however temporary, prevented the anti-immigrant National Front party of Marine Le Pen from capitalizing on this month’s Paris violence as some analysts had predicted, one of the surveys showed.

Also similar to Bush, while the French leader’s improved image could help him combat resistance to his economic deregulation drive that is going through parliament, poll groups said the downbeat jobs outlook meant the boost in polls might not last.

Three gunmen killed 17 people in Paris two weeks ago, including staff at the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, before they themselves were shot dead by security forces.