For the third year in a row, President Obama on Monday blew the deadline for submitting his budget request to Congress, prompting Republicans to grouse once again about presidential fecklessness on fiscal matters.

Less usual was the administration’s refusal to say when Obama would release his 2014 spending plan. Congressional aides in both parties said they expect to see the budget in mid- to late-March — a delay of more than a month, unmatched by any other incumbent president except, on one occasion, Ronald Reagan.

Though Obama’s budget requests have been dead on arrival in Congress since Republicans took control of the House two years ago, the blueprint remains an important political document. That’s particularly true this year as lawmakers gird for showdowns over automatic spending cuts, a government shutdown and the federal debt limit.

“The budget at least will tell us . . . whether Obama really seriously wants a grand bargain or whether it will be more marginal adjustments like last year,” said Rudolph Penner, a budget expert at the Urban Institute. “It will tell us a lot about just what he wants to do over the next four years.”

On Monday, White House press secretary Jay Carney dismissed questions about the missed deadline, urging reporters to focus on “substance over deadlines.”

and so we careen towards the fiscal cliff...

We went over the cliff long ago..... we're just waiting for the landing.

It's never the fall that kills ya!

We're screwed.

Another test of wills...If nothing else, the man is consistent....

The art of brinkmanship...