In brief:
1. The increases in domestic spending vaunted by Clinton and some deluded liberals and excoriated by the Repubs in fact barely keeps domestic spending at pace with inflation. Moreover, such increases depend on a myriad of other measures -- a host of small tax increases and spending cuts -- that will probably not happen, and which Clinton knows will not happen (another pattern).
2. The increases in defense spending vaunted by the Clinton and the Repubs and excoriated by some deluded liberals (do you begin to see a pattern here?) is in fact a significant cut in inflation-adjusted terms. Offsetting the fact of this cut are a) the possibility of a deal which jumps up the number; b) the defense theme, thus ratified by Clinton, carrying on beyond the 5-year 'plan' and eating up more revenue; c) the historic support by Clinton for a new Star Wars (Brookings defense expert Lawrence Korb, formerly Reagan Admin but consistent critic of defense waste, notes Clinton would spend more on Star Wars than Reagan ever did).
3. The most solid part of a deal would be a lock-in of revenues committed to the elimination of the national debt, till now something never proposed by even the most rabid fiscal conservative. Such a policy replicates most of the deficiencies of a balanced budget amendment, with a more extreme fiscal policy but thankfully not the same invulnerability that derives from a constitutional status.
4. The purported rescue of Social Security and Medicare is an utter fraud, a mere cover for paying off public debt.
To my way of thinking, the national debt pay-down is by far the worst thing in domestic policy Clinton could ever contrive to do -- much worse than welfare reform, Star Wars, or his cave-in on capital gains in 1997.
I'd also refer those interested to Robert Reich's column at http://epn.org on this same topic.
mbs