Spend and spend

Heh:

There are Americans still alive who remember when the GOP was the self-appointed protector of the public purse, the mortal enemy of any fiscal fooling around. But that was before Bush. On our 43rd president's watch, a $250 billion budget surplus has morphed into a $400 billion-plus deficit.

Recession was a reason. But a more important factor is the strategy developed under Bush that has made a mockery of the GOP's fiscally responsible past. The Bush GOP, under guru Karl Rove's guidance, hit upon a piece of pure election wisdom: The public doesn't object to spending; it objects to paying for it. Ergo, the secret to political success is to keep spending but stop paying for it. Borrow the bucks to pay for the spending and pass the bill to the kids. We can even cut taxes. That's the ticket, as the Bush GOP sees things.

It's not a particularly promising long-term political strategy. But short term, it works like a little wonder. And electoral politics is a notoriously short-term trade.