[furquhart]

Seriously, what "overspending."

Go and take a look at the Federal Budget, the discretionary spending items.

The only areas which has seen an increase higher than growth and inflation since 2001 are Defense and Homeland Security.

There's "pork barrel" spending, but it amounts to no more than - oh - let's say $30 Billion. Out of a $3 Trillion budget.

The only real spending increase is the drug benefit, which I oppose - but the Democrats wanted to enact a larger one.

The only way, in any case, that the "spending" will ever be brought down is through reform of Social Security and Medicare. And Bush tried - tried harder than any other President in my lifetime - to reform Social Security, and was abandoned by people - including many of you here.

[DoughtyOne]

The Department of Education's budget was doubled in the first few years of Bush's first term. Then there's the medicare medication supliment. These aren't big government programs?

[Alberta's Child]

Good post, but you overlook one important point. The U.S. Treasury is now spending billions of dollars on things "off-budget" (including a big chunk of the military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan). The bill for these things is eventually going to come due.

Not to be a pessimist, but the last time the bill for things of this sort came due, we got 1973-79 for our troubles.