Dale:

Here's the sentence:

President Bush's proposed budget takes a small step toward reining in long-term spending, but experts warn that his plan punts on the hard choices needed to end deficits and put America's future finances on stronger footing.--Knight Ridder

Now, here's what punting is all about. When faced with a bad field position and the possibility that you are going to give the opposition excellent field position, one of the options in American football is punting the ball, which means simply kicking it as far down the field as you can, thus giving it to the opposition, and hoping that you can pin them way back. It is usually done on fourth down, where failure to make a first down will result in automatically turning over the ball. But it can be done on any down, as was demonstrated by the great John Elway, arguably the best quarterback ever in the National Football League. In certain third down and very long situations Elway would execute what they called a pooch kick, a fairly short punt that was designed to pin the opposition back inside their own ten-yard line. But I digress.

Here's the meaning:

You can be in a situation where you are faced with two not-so-good options: try to make the first down or give the ball away. The first option is often perceived as far more difficult, so the coach opts for the "easy way out": a punt.

And that is what K-R is saying. Rather than dig down and do all the hard and dirty work necessary to achieve a goal (touchdown or whatever political goal you care to conceive) the President has chosen to punt the ball away and let the opposition have a go at it.

PLEASE let's confine this to discussing the term punt, not the political situation, or Jackie will hand me my head.

TEd