Back in the 60's, my Dad was worried about $2,000 credit card debt. It was over 15% of his annual income. Today, I write a $2,000 check each month because we use our credit card as a convenience. $2,000 today is nothing compared to what it was 40 years ago. The national debt is similar in concept as it really counts as a percentage of GDP. While the numbers are higher than ever before, they are not the highest they've ever been as a percentage of GDP. Not to say they shouldn't be a bit lower and on the wane, but when you look at what Bush inherited, and the events that added to it, he had a choice of doing right by the taxpayer and letting the debt rise, or letting us continue to be screwed and still not do anything to lower the debt. There is no doubt in my mind that if there was more money going in, the politicians would find a way to spend it. If Bush is successful in making progress on changing the tax codes and modernizing social security, along with cooperation of the Congress in fiscal responsibility (we all need to keep pressure on here, but too many prefer the hand-outs, so I'm not real optimistic) the debt will take care of itself.
If you make $4000 a month then it's okay to have that kind of credit card purchases --- and like you said you're just using credit for the convenience but you are not in debt if you pay off your card each and every month. If you make $2000 a month, then you shouldn't purchase $2000 worth of junk items. If you make $1000 a month then you have to be even more careful. The government is not living within it's means ---- it's income is higher than ever but it's not close to managing without extremely high debt.