Having patience will give time to show this president's whole agenda. Every indicator (including his own words) shows he wants the spending down, particularly when it's on pork. As a business major and a former business man, he knows the bottom line. But he has to leverage things, keeping in mind the present state of the economy and the will of Congress.
Those who have fed on pork to get themselves re-elected for generations need to be weaned ... slowly. Give him enough time and he'll make a significant cut into their porker habits, which is a Herculean task and cannot be done without a vibrant economy and the will of Congress being changed by degrees. Members of Congress have to learn that they can cut pork and still get re-elected. This will take a few election cycles at the very least. The best W can do is get the ball rolling, and he is.
It's one of those tortoise-and-the-hare things.
If this is not strategery, then it's sure as hell good luck and fortune in Bush's enemies.
The Dims reflexively shout "deficit baaaaad!" Which plays right into conservatism when coupled with tax cuts. IFFF the tax cuts coincide with a spurred economy then they will have obviously "worked" and to avoid their own bogeyman of a deficit, dims will be forced to either repeal the tax cuts, cut spending, or shut the hell up....and they won't do (a) or (c)!!!!! (But if tax cuts do not spur the economy then we got a whole nuther ball of wax, all bets off.)