Snip Snip Here, Snip Snip There!

President Obama begins the slice and dice:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The White House on Thursday will detail a proposal to save $17 billion next year by eliminating or reducing 121 federal programs, according to a senior administration official.

The President had always said he would line by line the budget, and although it seems these cuts are somewhat reserved, it is the first step to identifiy duplicity within the system and streamline the way we do business. Some of the nuggets going by the wayside:

Among the programs on the president's chopping block:

* A long-range navigation system now made obsolete by the GPS. Cost: $35 million.
* An early education program called Even Start, the performance of which had been poor. Cost: $66 million.
* A Department of Education attaché position in Paris. Cost: $632,000.
* The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation, which only pays out 20% of its funds in awards every year. Cost: $1 million.
* A program that pays states to clean out abandoned mines even after the mines have been cleaned out. Cost: $142 million.

We are barely 100 days in to the new administration, and the President continues to remain fully engaged in the process both domestically and internationally. The Chicken Little's of the political wonk world will just have to sit back and watch how it is done. They have created a bar so low that this President will continue to be rewarded with huge approval ratings and consistent support from the electorate.

Flash