Thursday, January 27, 2005

Fiscal Failure

During the 2004 presidential campaign George Bush talked about cutting the deficit in half by the time he left office. With the budget deficit estimates released by the Congressional Budget Office this week, that goal will join others empty promises.

Two weeks ago conservatives like Larry Kudlow were boasting how the deficit was going down this year and complaining that the media was going to ignore this. Unfortunately for Mr. Kudlow the CBO pointed out that while the basic deficit will be $368 billion, below the $412 billion deficit of 2004, additional $80 in war spending will push the deficit to around $450 billion.

The White House, in fuzzy math mode, argues that the $368 billion plus $80 billion extra spending will actually only lead to a $427 deficit. Perhaps there is a magic asterisk that will account for the other $21 billion.

So after turning a surplus in a deficit, Bush is now failing to stem the deficit, which isn't a surprise to any Democrat as they could have told anyone who would be willing to listen that Bush's economic legacy would be turning surpluses into long term deficits. However he was smart enough not to tell people what he really stood for.

Monday, January 17, 2005

Mission Accomplished

In an effort to make the world safer the Bush administration attacked Iraq, despited the opposition of several key figures from the 1991 Gulf War. So how has it turned out?

According the Washington Post, Iraq New Terror Breeding Ground, so apparently everything is going just great.

"Iraq has replaced Afghanistan as the training ground for the next generation of "professionalized" terrorists, according to a report released yesterday by the National Intelligence Council, the CIA director's think tank......Before the U.S. invasion, the CIA said Saddam Hussein had only circumstantial ties with several al Qaeda members. ..as instability in Iraq grew after the toppling of Hussein, and resentment toward the United States intensified in the Muslim world, hundreds of foreign terrorists flooded into Iraq across its unguarded borders. They found tons of unprotected weapons caches that, military officials say, they are now using against U.S. troops."

I feel safer, don't you?


Thursday, January 13, 2005

Calling President Gore

Republicans in Washington state are unhappy with the close election where a Democrat won after two recounts. Since the vote didn't go their way, they want a revote.

Saying the
Governor’s election produced "no clear victor at a time our state needs a strong decisive leader in Olympia" Republican say Washington needs to re-vote the election: one simple ballot style; one clear set of counting rules; with everyone watching very closely."

How cute, one simple ballot style, one clear set of counting rules. Gee I bet President Al Gore would like those standards. They would have given him a 291-246 electoral college victory to go along with a 600,000 plus popular vote margin.

But I'm sure the GOP sees 2000 differently. Afterall if George Bush can claim that a nearly 600,000 loss as a mandate, then a 100 vote victory for
Democrat Christine Gregoire must be a landslide.