As “tea parties” tepidly brew in cities across the country to protest government spending and budget deficits, President Obama is on the offensive, maintaining that the tax relief of his administration’s nascent months is helping resurrect our fallen economy.

Los Angeles Times:

President Obama, vowing today to make good on a promise to simplify income taxes, maintained that the tax relief that his administration won in its early months already is helping to revive the economy.

On the final day for filing of income-tax returns, the president delivered a speech near the White House to tout the tax breaks and the reforms he intends to pursue.

“We need to simplify a monstrous tax code that is far too complicated for most Americans to understand but just complicated enough for the insiders who know how to game the system,” the president said.

This midday address was intended not only as an appeal to the tax-paying public, but also as a message aimed at Congress, where Republicans are railing at the president for big spending and budget deficits.