The Economist: America’s debt is Obama’s biggest weakness:
Whenever Republicans accuse Mr Obama of fiscal profligacy, Democrats have three easy answers. The first is to accuse them of hypocrisy…The second is to blame all fiscal problems on Mr Bush. The third is to argue that although Mr Obama’s deficit is large, it is a needed and temporary response to an emergency.
Yet budget hawks are far from reassured. Bad as the deficit was under Mr Bush, it will quadruple this year, from $459 billion in 2008 to $1.845 trillion, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Mr Obama vows to slash it in half within four years, but that will still leave it bigger than the deficits for which he once lashed Mr Bush…The CBO reckons the deficit will still be running at more than $1 trillion a year in 2019.
Plus: “Sceptics fret that PAYGO will do little to address the deficit because it has four big loopholes.”
Give it a read. Obviously, the Left – and Obama – will need a bigger Sorosphere, ’cause some sort of genie’s gotten out of the bottle. The fundamental problem with raising the “Blame Bush” shields is that Bush is not in the White House anymore. This is all Obama’s responsibility now, even if Bush incurred much of the current deficit – Andrew Sullivan’s protestations notwithstanding. Obama could have chosen to make the whole thing better, leave it as is, or make it worse. Needless to say, he has not chosen wisely.
More on Obama’s ever-more exposed economic flank here and here. And a little taste of media reaction on video here.
UPDATE: Insta-lanche! Thanks for the link, Professor Reynolds.
Incidentally, here’s some related content via Instapundit: The Deficit Blame Game: “How is a $118 billion structural deficit, $35 billion in Medicare Part D, and a theoretical end to the Iraq presence forcing Barack Obama to spend nearly $1 trillion in 2018? How is it forcing him to spend roughly $650 trillion more than he takes in in 2012?”
How indeed?
Go ahead, Sorosphere. Make us laugh…
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