On the other hand…

…while I like the "yes we can" spirit that the mention of the response to Sputnik - big dreams and big investment around a common purpose - conjures, at least to me, the earmark veto pledge is just silly pandering to a constituency that's not going to appreciate it.

Well, it's more than that, I suppose. It's an executive branch power grab, too. The ability of Congress to write the budget pretty much any way they please is one of their Constitutional prerogatives, and one that I doubt either party in either house is eager to yield easily.