re: #15 erik_t

It’s a statement of fact to point out that those expenditures came on W’s watch. It’d be a statement of fact to point to other mandatory above-and-beyond expenditures that came on the watch of other presidents.

Exactly. It’s also a statement of fact that Bush structurally weakened many of the financial oversight regulations that led to the systemic risk requiring TARP. It’s a fact that to this day Republicans remain ideologically allergic to regulation.

re: #16 Daniel Ballard

Sullivan puts a partisan take on the relative spending. He blames republicans for spending that would surely have happened no matter who was in the WH. You can be as comfortable with that as you wish. I prefer a more discerning take.

It’s difficult to believe that any Democratic President would have ignored Gary Bernsten’s desperate requests for troops along the Afghan/Pakistan border during Operation Jawbreaker to instead focus on pre-staging for an elective war in Iraq.