RNC posts 2004 video of Obama calling the deficit under Bush “an enormous problem”
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As Republicans this week extend their attacks on President Obama for the increasing federal debt, the RNC’s “rapid response” team has dredged up old video of then-Senate candidate Obama elaborating his views about the federal deficit during a 2004 debate.
In the course of his response to a moderator’s question about the “monstrous federal deficit,” Obama says it’s “an enormous problem” brought about by the Bush White House, which he calls “the most fiscally irresponsible administration in certainly my memory.”
“We have gone from trillion-dollar surpluses to trillion-dollar deficits in the blink of an eye,” Obama said. “Not all of those costs are the fault of the administration — obviously, 9/11 occurred and the decline in the economy. But what is also true is that it was aided and abetted by a set of fiscal policies that I think were on the wrong course.”
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Goes to show Obama knows what he is talking about with regards to economy, in 2004 the economy was humming along with low unemployment, low inflation and decent growth. Those are the times you are supposed to be paying down the debt running surpluses, so you have more flexibility to have deficit spending during bad times, like the 2008-09 recession and subsequent slow recovery.
I wonder how the Tea Party will react to the news that their Republican masters are *still* spend-crazy, and *still* support budget deficits.
Will they stick with their ideals and support the president? Or will they fall back on their racist heritage and allow the Republicans to continue bankrupting the country?
Very stupid critique. Running a deficit when the economy was in good shape was not smart. But when the economy sank into the Great Recession at the end of the Bush presidency, it was necessary to run a deficit to rescue the economy. If Bush had not run up the deficit, when it was imperative to have one, the pain would have been much less. But this is too complex for GOP rank and file to understand.