The Ministry of Defence said "all the options were on the table" but said a sale of the base, once Britain's busiest civilian airport, was not part of a specific programme.
Eliminating loopholes in exchange for making the Bush tax cuts permanent after 2013 is on the table and by broadening the tax base, this could bring in tens of billions of new revenues each year.
To have it unequivocally taken off the table for discussion suggests a president more interested in pandering to his base than solving a critical public policy issue.