And it is lying. Ponder that when George Bush left office, our debt stood at about $10.5 trillion. By the end of President Obama's first term it will be well over $16 trillion. Yet we are to believe that a more than 50% increase in our debt was caused by a mere 1.4% yearly increase in spending under President Obama.
The idea that what was intended as one-time extraordinary spending (TARP for the banking crisis and the stimulus for the recession) is now the baseline of spending is just mind boggling. Never mind a slippery slope--this is a freaking cliff! Who can blame Republicans for opposing any spending when this is how the new rules are written?
Or, if you somehow believe the president's defense is true, you have no business claiming you are part of the "reality-based" community.
UPDATE: Related. Do you really want to argue that Bush jacked up our debt by spending on Iraq?
Iraq is such a tiny portion of our spending that it is silly to blame our deficits on that war. And that's aside from whether it is right to insist that any other portion of our non-defense budget should be considered paid by tax revenue rather than from borrowed money.
UPDATE: Wow. The fantasy defense didn't start with the president, but it ended up coming out of his mouth. Raising the question of whether the president really believes this rot or is just that comfortable with lying.
