Do you like austerity as an idea?

The TV newsies (even the Fox ones) have been bloviating that Americans don't want austerity measures to balance the federal budget. This article suggests that the pollsters are asking the wrong questions and the newsies are repeating the wrong answers.
Balancing the budget is selecting the best of several unpleasant alternatives. Nobody likes tax hikes or spending cuts. When the pollster asks "Do you approve of this unpleasant alternative" the answer is always NO. Of course, nobody approves of unpleasant choices. I don't, and you don't.
The correct question to ask is "Do you prefer this unpleasant choice over that unpleasant choice." When presented with these kinds of questions, a goodly sample of Americans choose to reduce Medicare and Medicaid spending, raise the eligibility age for social security and bump up the limits of the FICA tax. Taken together the measures produce (on paper at least) a balanced budget. In one year.
This article suggests the Federal budget problem in Washington is the product of small bore politicians who aren't trying to get the budget balanced. Instead they are all trying to win the 2012 election, by bashing their opponents over the budget.