Soon, the crowing will begin. Republicans and Democrats both will come away from this year's struggle over the federal budget with reasons to claim victory.

The question, however, is whether the public can do the same. It appears not.In this age of unprecedented federal revenues and projected surpluses, lawmakers could have done much better than what they finally ended up passing this week. Republicans could have stood up to President Clinton and demanded spending cuts, tax cuts and austere appropriations that would make the surplus meaningful, but they didn't.

By any objective measure, they didn't even hold true to their promise of leaving Social Security surpluses alone, even though they are likely to claim they did. They were creative about it, all right. For example, they decided to move one military pay period next year ahead by one day, allowing it to appear in the next fiscal year, instead. They declared the 2000 Census an emergency so they could move it off budget. That's why Democrats will claim, with some merit, that the GOP raided Social Security funds in the amount of $17 billion. But no one will know for sure until next year's economy produces its share of revenues.

Of course, these measures wouldn't have been necessary without the pet projects being funded on both sides of the aisle, nor without the president's list of feel-good items. Chief among these are the appropriations to hire more teachers and police officers. Both will end up costing local governments more in the long run. That's because the federal money doesn't go much further than to hire the new people. Paying to keep them eventually will be an expense that belongs to local school districts and police departments.

And the lengthy debates over milk prices, which kept Congress from concluding the budget much earlier, were more evidence of lawmakers meddling where they don't belong. The bill sets minimum prices and benefits a Northeast cartel of dairy farmers.

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The budget is by no means a disaster. In the long run, its provision against future raids of Social Security could turn into a huge boon for the nation, if Congress adheres to it. It also provides a healthy amount to help Utah deal with the effects of the 2002 Olympics -- an investment well worth its price. But the budget sets no moral or ideological tone. It looks like simply more of business as usual in Washington, with the added grace of a strong and generous economy.

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