Obama lays out spend-‘n’-tax agenda, but what about that $18 trillion debt?

If there were any doubts that President Obama has moved beyond trying to tackle the $18 trillion national debt, his State of the Union address should put them to rest: He’s over it.

The president on Tuesday night pitched an ambitious package of tax hikes for some, tax cuts for others, education aid and other government protections. He plans to hit the road on Wednesday to promote those policies, visiting Boise, Idaho, and after that heading to Kansas.

But absent from Obama’s address was any mention of the national debt.

And, in a break from past addresses, he made no call for reforming entitlements like Social Security and Medicare, the latter being a major driver of deficits and debt. Instead, he pointed to those programs as models for how the government protects Americans from “adversity” and examples of the kind of “middle-class economics” he supports.

“That’s what middle-class economics is — the idea that this country does best when everyone gets their fair shot, everyone does their fair share, everyone plays by the same set of rules,” Obama said.

Senior administration officials, in a briefing before the address, admitted the omission of any call for entitlement reform is an acknowledgement that the chances of a “grand bargain” on the budget is not likely during the next two years. The president also may simply not want to antagonize liberal Democrats, for a slim shot at a deal with Republicans.

Obama warns of vetoes as he hits road to push new programs, taxes.

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