What Karl Rove got wrong on the U.S. deficit - By David Axelrod

[kpete]

What Karl Rove got wrong on the U.S. deficit

By David Axelrod
Friday, January 15, 2010
For its Topic A feature last Sunday, The Post invited a panel of political operatives to offer their advice to the Democratic Party on strategy for 2010 . Improbably, one of the operatives asked was Karl Rove, President George W. Bush's longtime chief strategist.

Rove has some impressive campaign victories to his credit. But given the shape in which the last administration left this country, I'm not sure I would solicit his advice. And given the backhanded advice he offered, I'm not sure he was all that eager to help.

Of all the claims Rove made, one in particular caught my eye for its sheer audacity and shamelessness -- that congressional Democrats "will run up more debt by October than Bush did in eight years."

So, let's review a little history:

The day the Bush administration took over from President Bill Clinton in 2001, America enjoyed a $236 billion budget surplus -- with a projected 10-year surplus of $5.6 trillion. When the Bush administration left office, it handed President Obama a $1.3 trillion deficit -- and projected shortfalls of $8 trillion for the next decade. During eight years in office, the Bush administration passed two major tax cuts skewed to the wealthiest Americans, enacted a costly Medicare prescription-drug benefit and waged two wars, without paying for any of it.

more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/14/AR2010011403909.html

[Turbineguy]

1. The debt that Democrats run up

is the cost of fixing the Bush administration's damage.

[indepat]

2. Let's not forget the impact continuing junior's war and tax cuts is having on

budget deficits and national debt. :P

[Bitwit1234]

3. What's the matter with all this

the MSM is not telling the public the reason for the debt. They are not telling them the Obama administration has to make up for the mess bush left. The MSM is trying to focus on the Democrats and make the mess their fault. After all seven out of eight media companies are republican owned. Do you think they want to screw themselves up.

[progressoid]

4. What Karl Rove got wrong on ... [fill in the blank]

That would be a long list.

[unhappycamper]

5. A llittle more history: The 2000 military budget was $302 billion.

Current (2010) military expenditures are around $740 billion a year or so not counting the Veterans Administration or the black budget..

Riddle me that KKKarl.

[Lasher]

6. Hmm, I did not know that.

[bemildred]

7. And for nothing, essentially too. Zippo. nt