"It is all fantasy," said a senior House Republican aide.
What's more, the budget probably understates future deficits because it does not include funding for several initiatives that administration and congressional officials expect or hope to be enacted. Most notably, it includes no funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan -- an expense that Pentagon officials said could exceed $50 billion in 2005.
The budget also makes no provision for Bush's idea of reforming Social Security to allow people to invest part of their payroll taxes in individual investment accounts, an initiative that could cost more than $1.24 trillion over 10 years for the transition to a new system. Although Bush is expected to campaign on the politically volatile issue, he is not pushing wary Republicans to act on it before the election.
"It's a subject of such great sensitivity and broad political interest that we need to get the political debate going on it before there's an actual legislative proposal sent up to the Hill," said Joshua Bolton, Bush's budget director.
Democrats criticized the budget for omitting many likely expenses, saying it undercut Bush's claim to be serious about reducing the deficit.
"This budget is neither credible nor realistic because it omits so many costly items," said Rep. John M. Spratt Jr. of South Carolina, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee.
On the presidential campaign trail, Bush's Democratic rivals portrayed his budget as an advertisement for why voters should not reelect him.
"George W. Bush comes out of the White House to deliver his budget, and once again, all of America falls in a deep, dark shadow of deficit," said Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. "We can't afford another four years of the same destructive fiscal leadership."
Retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark said it laid bare Bush's priorities: "Tax cuts for the rich and tough luck for everyone else."
Bush's proposals could be substantially revised as Congress writes its budget this spring and implements it with spending and tax bills.
Bush portrayed this budget, like his last two, as driven by the exigencies of the war in Iraq and the struggle against terrorism.
"Our nation remains at war," Bush said. "This nation has committed itself to the long war against terror."
