The Hill News

President Obama's speech on reducing the deficit "put both parties on notice" that they have to move to the center, the president of the centrist Third Way think tank said.

In a statement released to The Hill shortly after President Obama's speech on Wednesday, Third Way President Jonathan Cowan praised Obama's speech for shifting the debate on reducing the deficit from “if or when” to “how.”

Third Way has been active in the budget debates. It recently released a memo recommending policy stances on tackling the deficit.

“This speech is a pivotal moment in the Obama presidency and the deficit reduction debate," Cowan said. "The President offered detailed proposals that would address the deficit in a serious way, a vision for why they will strengthen long-term US economic growth and preserve a progressive social safety ! net, and an ambitious timeline for enacting these changes."

Cowan added that the speech succinctly urged both Republicans and Democrats to move away from polarization.

“The President also challenged Beltway orthodoxies and put both parties on notice that retreating to their ideological corners is not an option," Cowan continued. "As the Gang of Six has shown, there are courageous Democrats and Republicans who are ready to work with the President to get things done on these issues.”

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a member of the bipartisan "Gang of Six" that is working to turn the recommendations of the president's fiscal commission into law, echoed Cowan's response in his own release.

“Our bipartisan group of six Senators continues to work for a comprehensive solution to our nation’s debt," Durbin said. "The President’s speech makes it clear that he is committed to the same goal.”