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The budget President Obama delivered to Congress this week was presented as a compromise package, a path to some sort of 鈥済rand bargain鈥� involving taxes and spending.

鈥淚 don't believe that all these ideas are optimal,鈥� the president acknowledged. 鈥淏ut I'm willing to accept them as part of a compromise if and only if they contain protections for the most vulnerable Americans.鈥�

Indeed, his budget did draw immediate sniping from Obama鈥檚 liberal base as well as from Republican lawmakers. A particular affront to the left is the tweaking envisioned for Medicare, revealed Friday in congressional testimony by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

The Obama budget also would change the way inflation is figured for Social Security recipients, and it raises taxes on higher-income households.

But 鈥渃ompromise?鈥� No way, the GOP charged in its Saturday .

Speaking on behalf of her party, freshman Rep. Jackie Walorski (R) of Indiana called it 鈥渁 blank check for more spending and more debt.鈥�
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听鈥淓ven when the president鈥檚 budget offers signs of common ground 鈥� like modest entitlement reforms 鈥� he says he won鈥檛 follow through unless he can impose more tax increases,鈥� Rep. Walorski said. 鈥淲orst of all, the White House says the president鈥檚 budget never balances 鈥� ever, failing to meet the most basic principle of budgeting for every family and small business.鈥�

鈥淭he president鈥檚 budget isn鈥檛 a compromise; it鈥檚 a blank check for more spending and more debt,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f that were the answer, millions of Americans wouldn鈥檛 be leaving the workforce and asking 鈥榳here are the jobs?鈥欌��

Walorski, who鈥檚 a member of the House Budget Committee, hammered Obama鈥檚 plan for its alleged tax impact: more than $1 trillion in new taxes, in addition to $1 trillion in new taxes from ObamaCare and more than $600 billion in tax hikes the president secured in January.

And she touted the House budget plan, including the claim that it would produce a balanced budget in ten years.

鈥淔irst, our balanced budget seizes opportunities to support our nation of builders and get Americans back to work, through popular energy projects like the Keystone XL pipeline,鈥� she said. 鈥淪econd, our balanced budget repeals ObamaCare so we can address the problems it is causing 鈥� like making it harder to hire and driving up health care costs 鈥� and work towards patient-centered reforms.听Finally, our balanced budget lays the groundwork for a fairer, simpler tax code.听Closing loopholes and lowering tax rates for everyone would mean more jobs and higher wages.鈥�

In releasing his budget, Obama claimed that he鈥檇 鈥渁lready met Republicans more than halfway.鈥�

鈥淪o in the coming days and weeks, I hope that Republicans will come forward and demonstrate that they鈥檙e really as serious about the deficits and debt as they claim to be,鈥� he said.

To which Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell sniffed that Obama鈥檚 budget amounted to a 鈥渓eft-wing wish list.鈥澨� House Speaker John Boehner warns that Obama鈥檚 entitlement adjustments are being 鈥渉eld hostage鈥� to more taxes.

With that kind rhetoric, any budget 鈥渃ompromise鈥� could be a long way off.