When candidate Barack Obama was running for president in 2008, he righteously labeled George W. Bush's additions to the national debt "unpatriotic:"
The problem is, is that the way Bush has done it over the last eight years is to take out a credit card from the Bank of China in the name of our children, driving up our national debt from $5 trillion for the first 42 presidents – #43 added $4 trillion by his lonesome, so that we now have over $9 trillion of debt that we are going to have to pay back — $30,000 for every man, woman and child. That’s irresponsible. It’s unpatriotic.
Four years later, where do those figures stand? The national debt has zoomed past the $16 trillion mark (Obama has added more than $5 trillion "by his lonesome"), and every "man, woman and child" now owes over $51,000. Obama's unanimously-rejected budget would explodes that debt by $11 trillion (more!) over the next decade. So much for his promises to thoroughly examine federal spending "line by line" to achieve a "net spending cut" while slicing the deficit in half by now. It's almost as if he just says whatever he thinks will help get him elected, then does whatever he pleases once in office. This must stop. Mitt Romney's new television ad, entitled "Dear Daughter," makes the issue of inter-generational theft and reckless government spending very personal:
This spot simultaneously highlights the debt issue while using a relatively soft sell to combat the war on women meme. Team Romney has used economic arguments to push back against Democrats' shameless "women" pandering before, and it's smart for them to do so again. I think this ad has a real chance to break through the clutter because it has very different optics than your average political hit. Also, I wonder if the Romney campaign could fold this into the quote dependency discussion by turning the concept on its head: Not only have Obama's policies increased citizens' dependency on the federal government, his debt has rendered the long-term solvency of the federal government dependent on painful bailouts from future taxpayers like the adorable baby girl in that ad. How awful. I'll leave you with this surreal clip of The One solemnly pledging to oversee a "net spending cut" during a 2008 presidential debate. I know I linked it above, but it really must be seen. Even when you know what's coming, it's incredible to watch this guy's cynicism in action:
Watch the CNN focus group speed dials go off the charts as he intones about "mortgaging our children's future." Keep in mind that this debate occurred post-Lehman, post-collapse, so it's not like he had wonderful intentions, but then the crisis hit and the plans to reduce spending were dashed. He made these promises knowing exactly what was coming.
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