Below The Beltway

Thanks to the bailout and a host of new economic stimulus package, the Federal budget deficit looks likely to cross a crucial psychological barrier:
Congressional leaders and both presidential candidates are proposing billions of dollars in tax breaks and other measures to stoke economic growth, a surge in spending that could send the federal deficit soaring [...]

Because no matter who wins in three weeks, we’re unlikely to see nonsense like this coming from the White House:
WASHINGTON — President Bush asserted on Tuesday that he had the executive power to bypass several parts of two bills: a military authorization act and a measure giving inspectors general greater independence from White House control.
Mr. [...]

The federal budget deficit has ended the fiscal year with another record:
WASHINGTON (Bloomberg) — The federal budget deficit rose to $455 billion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 as financial market strains slowed economic growth while spending rose the most since 1990.
By comparison, the deficit a year earlier was $162 billion, while the [...]

Tomorrow, the Bush Administration will unveil details of it’s plan to turn some of the largest banks in the country into government-owned entities:
WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department, in its boldest move yet, is expected to announce a plan Tuesday to invest up to $250 billion in large and small banks, according to officials. The United [...]

You’ve got to admit that this quote from John McCain’s speech in Virginia Beach is interesting:
VIRGINIA BEACH — Republican John McCain pledged to fight for a new direction for the country in an energetic new campaign stump speech Monday that sought to distance him from the economic policies of President Bush.
“We cannot spend the next [...]

While Republicans are eager to place the blame for the subprime mortgage crisis and the subsequent credit crisis on Democrats, perhaps they’d better do a little research before running that ball down the field.
Consider, for example this speech from 2002:
I believe owning something is a part of the American Dream, as well. I believe when [...]

If I didn’t see this happening right before my eyes, I wouldn’t believe it:
WASHINGTON — Having tried without success to unlock frozen credit markets, the Treasury Department is considering taking ownership stakes in many United States banks to try to restore confidence in the financial system, according to government officials.
Treasury officials say the just-passed $700 [...]

Retiring Virginia Congressman Tom Davis is the subject of an article in today’s New York Times Magazine, and he doesn’t hold much back:
Tom Davis arrived in Congress with the Gingrich class of 1994, again ousting an incumbent Democrat, but he was hardly a revolutionary. Davis was a business-oriented Republican animated by economic competitiveness, fiscal responsibility [...]

By the time he leaves office, George W. Bush will have increased the national debt more than any other President in American history:
With no fanfare and little notice, the national debt has grown by more than $4 trillion during George W. Bush’s presidency.
It’s the biggest increase under any president in U.S history.
On the day President [...]

It shouldn’t be any surprise that George W. Bush has hit the lowest approval ratings of his Presidency:
PRINCETON, NJ — According to a Sept. 26-27 USA Today/Gallup poll, just 27% of Americans approve of the job George W. Bush is doing as president, the lowest rating of his presidency.
The new personal low rating for Bush [...]