Now how did we manage that without Al Gore or John Kerry as President?

That's the problem with being "The Decider". You have no one to blame for your blunders anymore.

Republicans had this choice. Help America by getting into the game with some curb on their out of control spending & Nation Building... OR... just keep spending us up and saying... Oh, that's OK... if it's Republican deficit spending it's GRRREAT!

Check this out...

Column from 11/14/07 The Columbus Dispatch (one of Ohio's largest newspapers which is well known for being very purple (not red or blue) in the positions it takes)

In pursuing fiscal restraint, President Clinton didn't push very hard for many Democratic programs. He left a budget surplus that President Bush and the Republican Congress blew through in about two minutes. Bush then proceeded to ram Republican priorities through a pliant Congress without ever worrying about how to pay for them. Who benefited from our fiscal discipline?
The complaint has merit, but in answer to the question of who benefited: The country did.
We now see the fruits of fiscal irresponsibility in today's economic turmoil. The sinking dollar reflects investor angst over America's deficits, which are the result of Republican passion for spending big, taxing too little and borrowing the difference.
The U.S. government borrows $800 billion a year, largely from foreigners. We are now in hock to the Chinese, and America is no longer master of its fate. Our econimic prestige has fallen so far that a single mischievous remark by a Chinese politician sent U.S. stocks plunging. He had suggested that his country start moving its money out of the dollar and into the stronger euro.
And so Democrats should be mighty proud that one of their first acts after winning majorities in Congress was to revive the pay-go budget rule, which requires lawmakers to offset the costs of legislation with tax increases or spending cuts. That means politicians have to find the money for new programs. Think about it: In the service of fiscal discipline, Democrats had agreed to trim their own ambitions.

If Republicans had led the fight to get this administration out of office at any time, they could've owned the U S for the next twenty years.

I agree that the Bush administration has done a poor job with spending, but the rest of this doesn't make a lot of sense.

You say we are pushing towards 9 trillion in debt. Well, if your comments are going to make sense, you also have to include the fact that GDP is movng towards 14 trillion for the first time. The only number that matters is the debt-to-GDP percentage ratio, which is about 65% - hardly cause for hysterics. It jas been much higher at various times in US history.

As for the annual federal debt - it will come in at @ 1.5% for fiscal 2007, with projections for close to a balanced budget for 2008. That is one of the best in the world. The only question that matters regarding that number is: How fast is the debt growing in relation to the economy? Right now, the economy is growing at a faster rate.

As for the idea that the Democrats can be trusted with money - that is so outrageous that words fail....

Giving money to Democrats is like giving cheese to mice or whiskey to alcoholics: they will eat and drink everything they can find and demand more. The recent failure of the GOP to control spending has hurt their credibility in the view of conservatives such as myself, but the Democrats have no credibility at all in the first place. The only ones that do are the DNC moderates who helped the Clinton administration, but are now left out in the cold by Hillary and Edwards and their anti-business chums.

The sheer insanity of the Rangel tax increase proposals are an indication that the far left has learned nothing at all from their disastrous economic policies of the 1930s, 60s and 70s. The idea that a posturing clown like Rangel - a man withutu the slightest knowledge of how markets work and unbounded contempt for capitalism - may have real power over the lives of Americans is indeed frightening.

__________________
Our fears in Banquo stick deep; and in his royalty of nature reigns that which would be fear'd: 'tis much he dares; And, to that dauntless temper of his mind, he hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour to act in safety.

Macbeth 3:1

No Republicans or Democrats can be trusted? What to do, what to do...Are the Whigs running anyone?

What if we started voting logically instead of the idiotic party loyalties? What if we froze the dollar's worth, the government realized how stupid free market is (destined to destroy their currency) and worked to eliminate that debt.

Democrats have just as many problems as the Republicans, but of course I shouldn't force the liquidation of political parties on anyone... BUT COME ON, PEOPLE!!!How foolish are we?

__________________
"Currency is god."

"Life is eternal, but never meaningless."

"If there is anything America needs, it's more lawyers."
Lionel Hutz, from the The Simpsons

Why are we so worried about a large national debt? What does that mean we have a large national debt. So what. The real problem, with this debt is that it's held by foreign investors, not americans. But as to having a large national debt, it does not matter to our economy. Governments have no time lines on when to pay it back. Our economy will run a surplus and it will get paid off over time.

Gee, I think I'll go out and run up my all charge cards. What a great philosophy you've got. My debt will outlive me!

Yeah, who the hell cares? Let the generations down the road handle it! We're having too much fun NOW! Long live unadulterated hedonism!

__________________
"The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom."
Isaac Asimov