Yesterday, President Barack Obama told CBS News’ 60 Minutes that “ninety percent” of the reason the federal budget deficit has risen dramatically under his administration is because of his predecessor, George W. Bush. Not only is that a baldfaced lie--Obama borrowed more money in less than four years than Bush did in eight--but it is a lie that many in the media want to believe, as Andrew Sullivan of Newsweek demonstrates.
Sullivan argues, in his latest Newsweek cover story, that Obama could become the new Ronald Reagan--for Democrats--by balancing the budget through “a bipartisan deal on taxes and spending.” This after four years in which Obama failed to halve the deficit as promised; radically expanded spending; constantly pushed for higher taxes; ignored his own debt commission; and failed to achieve a “grand bargain” on the long-term budget.
Fact Check: Obama Lies About Responsibility for Deficit
In Bush’s last fiscal year in office, FY2008, the deficit hit a new record high: $438 billion. The final spending bills for FY2009 were signed by President Obama--not Bush--and included spending that Democrats had failed to push through the Bush White House.
As of right now, the federal budget deficit for FY2012--Obama’s fourth and possibly last year in office--has reached $1.17 trillion, and counting. That is three times higher than Bush’s record-breaking deficit. ...
(CBS News) The National Debt has now increased more during President Obama's three years and two months in office than it did during 8 years of the George W. Bush presidency.
The Debt rose $4.899 trillion during the two terms of the Bush presidency. It has now gone up $4.939 trillion since President Obama took office.
The latest posting from the Bureau of Public Debt at the Treasury Department shows the National Debt now stands at $15.566 trillion. It was $10.626 trillion on President Bush's last day in office, which coincided with President Obama's first day.
The National Debt also now exceeds 100% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product, the total value of goods and services.
National Debt has increased more under Obama than under Bush
When I came into office, I inherited the biggest deficit in our history. And over the last four years, the deficit has gone up, but ninety percent of that is as a consequence of two wars that weren't paid for, as a consequence of tax cuts that weren't paid for, a prescription drug plan that was not paid for, and then the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Now we took some emergency actions, but that accounts for about ten percent of this increase in the deficit, and we have actually seen the federal government grow at a slower pace than at any time since Dwight Eisenhower, in fact, substantially lower than the federal government grew under either Ronald Reagan or George Bush.
