Here are the responses to President Obama’s deficit reduction speech by the Levin brothers and Rep. Gary Peters. As far as I can surmise, Rep. Candy Miller and Sen. Debbie Stabenow dodged the entire subject.
Rep. Sandy Levin: “President Obama today made clear that he will stand firmly in the path of Republican efforts to dismantle Medicare, ram through cuts to Social Security and break the fundamental social contract in America. The president laid out an effective framework for deficit reduction that directly contrasts with the Republican approach, which aims to cut taxes for the very wealthy and dramatically increase health care costs for seniors.
“Republicans, as the president noted, have seized on their new majority in the House by seeking to roll back the clock on commitments that have been in place for generations. At every step, we will fight to safeguard the very programs that have helped build America’s middle class.”
In the category of political games being played: what are the cuts to Social Security that the House GOP wants to ram through?
 Here is what Peters said:
“Washington needs to get serious about deficit reduction, and I’m glad that both parties are finally talking about real proposals to get our fiscal house in order. Families, businesses and states are making tough choices to make ends meet, and it’s time for the federal government to do the same. For over a year, I’ve been calling for both parties to work together to enact a comprehensive deficit reduction plan that controls spending, protects our most vulnerable citizens, and begins paying down our debt.”
Sen. Carl Levin also followed the Democratic Party playbook, despite a very real possibility that the liberal base will eventually revolt. 
Levin said: “I commend the president for taking a balanced approach to the urgent problem of deficit reduction. His approach is in stark contrast to that of House Republicans, who have made extreme proposals that would devastate seniors and working families, endangering their welfare and their ability to send their kids to college, while handing another giant tax break to the wealthiest Americans and undermining our economic recovery.
“It was essential that the president put revenues on the table, because tax breaks for the wealthy and unnecessary tax loopholes helped put us in this ditch. I hope and believe that the president, working together with Congress, can reach solutions that bring meaningful deficit reduction and spread the burden of our common deficit problem equitably.”
 Three responses, three careful reactions that provide plenty of leeway as the deficit fight gets heated over the next six months.