I thought George W Bush spent way too much. I’ve thought that of Presidents since I started voting (Ronald Reagan, 1984).
Randall Hoven, over at American Thinker, puts the Bush “over spending” in context…
If you want to get really picky, Bush inherited a debt of 35.1% of GDP from Bill Clinton in 2000, and left Obama a debt of 40.8% of GDP in 2008 (per the CBO). There you have it — the smoking gun! An extra 5.7% of GDP in federal debt held by the public. But most of that came in 2008, a full year of recession.
In other words, Bush let the debt grow at a rate equal to GNP growth, at least until GNP didn’t grow in 2008. And he did this through TWO RECESSIONS, a war, and a two major catastrophes (9/11 and Katrina). I still think he spent too much, but in context he held his own.
Compare to Obama and his plans:
Under Obama’s budget, the debt held by the public will reach 82.4% of GDP in 2019. That is more than double the average level since 1960 and more than double what Bush left in 2008.
And in summary….
There is simply no comparison between Obama and Bush. Heck, there is no comparison between Obama and any other president in US history.
Whether lying, spending, or lying and spending, Obama is tops!