A recent Quinnipiac poll (see final question) reveals that Americans understand, by an overwhelming 72-19 margin, that Obamacare will lead to higher budget deficits. While this is good news from a political perspective, I can’t help but wonder about the 19 percent that actually think a new entitlement program will produce lower deficits. Somehow, I suspect these people are not Redstate readers, but here’s a video just in case any of them are cyberstalking.

From the diaries by Erick

In a recent post on Cato-at-Liberty, I suggested that advocates of limited government should not attack Obama for the record FY2009 deficit. My argument was based on two points. First, the real problem is government spending, so that is where we should focus on energies. Fixating on deficits can be helpful, to be sure, but it also can unwittingly aid the other side since it enables them to offer a “solution” in the form of higher taxes. My second point was that Obama is largely not responsible for the FY2009 budget, which began on October 1, 2008.

This second point has led to some spirited – and conflicting – responses, with Bruce Bartlett attacking me from the left and Mustango attacking me from the right.

Let’s deal with Mustango’s criticisms. He argues that budgets are passed by Congress, presumably implying that Nancy Pelosi, et al, should be blamed. The Speaker of the House is a complete statist, so I’m a big fan of anybody who points out her flaws, but since President Bush supported all of the wasteful spending adopted in the last year (as well as the first seven years) of his presidency, he also must bear responsibility for the results.

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