DavidM, Are you still whining about Pelosi? Republicans control the house now, doesn't that mean you have to stop whining about her? Or is it stupid to think that economic conditions that are built up over time, simply disappear with the new administration. I made two arguments. One was that Tucker's comment about something Obama send in 2008 requires some context as to the situation in 2008. The other was that if you compare the US since the stimulus to Britain in the same time you see that we did much better. The latter argument is not whining and does not mention Bush. The first goes back exactly as far as the conservative whine does.

Doug, Your reading comprehension is really that poor. Very sad. Did you miss that Tucker's argument that Obama's stimulus didn't work goes back to 2008? That is why in answering it I went back to 2008. But it shows something wrong with me that I went back to 2008. You guys really are clowns.

Thomas, Actually the argument I gave there was that Britain and the US were in a fairly similar position in 2009. We went with stimulus. They went with austerity. Our economy did better. If you do not see Bush mentioned there it is because your idea that all my arguments come down to "It's Bush fault" is a matter of your poor reading comprehension. I think you have trouble taking my arguments seriously because they do not have the conclusions you want, and that send your brain all afrazzle.

I see you ignored the chart comparing what happened where stimulus was tried, and what happened in as similar a situation as one could fine in which it was not. That is wise of you. After all the evidence does not support your view. So it is a good idea for you to ignore anything that looks like evidence. I am puzzled by this idea that the fact that it was considered to be the worse than any recession since the depression in 2008 means that it could not have turned out to be worse. The downward revisions in 2008 happened, so you are simply arguing against reality here. But I can't see why you think you are doing so based on an actual coherent argument.

DG, So you are blaming the first 6 years of Reagan deficits on Carter. I assume you are blaming the current deficits on Bush as well. After all Bush left a more severe recession and we are not yet six years into the Obama administration. Certainly the Fed's killing stagflation contributed to the deficits, although it is hardly plausible that that was such a large factor. But your chronology is otherwise still at odds with reality. The Reagan deficits continued growing into the Bush years. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_by_U.S._presidential_terms.

John, You don't seem to have any clue as to who controlled the House and Senate when. Couldn't you have at least looked those things up before making yourself look foolish?

Raymond, Are you suggesting that saying the Reagan tax cuts produced the deficits that followed the Reagan tax cuts is like arguing that it caused the recent crisis in Italy and Greece? You really don't mind making yourself look that silly?

Kenneth, I don't know what comparison you are talking about. The figures in the link I gave were given in 4 year blocks. I was not relying on any generalizations off of the table. The table seemed to speak for itself.

Dale, Bush ballooned the economy when Congress was under Republican control. Reagan used a mix of Republican and Dixiecrat votes. The most important changes towards getting debt under control under Clinton happened when Democrats held the Congress. Why.

Dale, In theory it might depend on what is cut, but the wealthy tend to get their perks in the form of tax credits so not really. And you can look at what cuts the Republican propose, and in fact they are cuts that would hurt the poor and the middle class. Your skin in the game seems to miss both what Obama is talking about and the facts. While it is true that because of the recession 47% of people are not paying income tax, but they pay other taxes, so there are very few people who do not have any skin in the game in the way you talk about. Obama, I believe, is arguing for shared sacrifice like I am.