The single biggest cause of the continued weakness in the economy is not the deficit, but the lack of consumer demand. People are scared, and not confident in their income sources, and that leads them to save money instead of spending it.
If consumers spent more, more money would be circulating in the economy, and employers could employ more people, which would start the beneficial spiral upward that our economy needs.
On the other hand, if we focus too much on the deficit, reducing federal spending, we will decrease the number of people with jobs, and risk sending the economy back into recession.
Every other recession this country has experienced has ended in part with increased public sector employment. Today, we see decreased public sector employment, so the economy is still weak.