Samantha Pierce

Just some stuff to remember as we all discuss the downgrading to the US's credit rating by S&P. After beginning with a Clinton-era surplus in 2001, the Bush administration ran up deficits of $158 billion in 2002 ; $378 billion in 2003; and $413 billion in 2004. Then, with revenues pouring in, the deficits began to fall: $318 billion in 2005; $248 billion in 2006; and $161 billion in 2007. That 2007 deficit, with the tax cuts in effect, was one-tenth of today’s $1.6 trillion deficit. Deficits went up in 2008 with the beginning of the economic downturn — and, not coincidentally, with the first full year of a Democratic House and Senate. Read the whole thing . Via Instapundit who notes , "People complained about Bush’s spending, but if we could get back to the Bush-era spending and deficits now it would look like a triumph of fiscal responsibility — and Democrats would complain of 'austerity.'"

My credit score is better than the US government's. That's what happens when you don't spend more money than you have and you pay your bills on time. I'm just sayin'. S&P downgrades U.S. credit rating from AAA WASHINGTON — Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's on Friday downgraded the United States' credit rating first time in the history of the ratings. The credit rating agency said that it is cutting the country's top AAA rating by one notch to AA-plus. The credit agency said that it is making the move because the deficit reduction plan passed by Congress on Tuesday did not go far enough to stabilize the country's debt situation. A source familiar with the discussions said that the Obama administration feels the S&P's analysis contained "deep and fundamental flaws." S&P said that in addition to the downgrade, it is issuing a negative outlook, meaning that there was a chance it will lower the rating further w...

Here it is . Read it if you like. You can comment on it here . Oh, and some questions about the White House Fact Sheet .

So John McCain called Tea Party folk hobbits like it was supposed to be an insult which led me to wonder if he, and others who picked up the "insult," had actually read the Lord of the Rings books. In the books the hobbits are the good guys. Small and unassuming no one thinks much of them as warriors but they are nonetheless the ones who manage to do what the great warriors and magicians before them were unable to do. They resisted the lure of the Dark Lord's magic, resisted the seduction of the power of the One Ring, and destroyed the Dark Lord. So if the Tea Party folk and the people they support are the hobbits who are Gollum , Denethor , Saruman , and Sauron to name a few? Why don't we have some fun with this and assign LOTR roles to the cast of characters in Washington DC? For the purists specify movie LOTR or book LOTR and make your case for your choice in the comments.

Now: White House spokesman Jay Carney said the president would accept a short-term measure to raise the debt limit as part of a broader deficit reduction plan, conceding that extra time may be necessary for a sweeping bill to work its way through the legislative process. Then: Yesterday, Mr Carney said: "The President does not support a short-term extension of the debt limit, period. "The only exception to that is in the event that both sides reach a deal on a long-term extension of the debt limit plus significant deficit reduction, and we needed a very short-term extension to allow a bit of extra time for a bill to work its way through the legislative progress." With time running out, a temporary increase in the borrowing limit is looking more likely. Until now, Mr Obama has firmly opposed any short-term measure on the debt limit, saying he wants an extension that takes the US government past the presidential election in November next year and into 2013. Mr Ob...